These Are Some of the Best Startup Ecosystems in Europe and in the World in 2022

Do you want to know what is the best startup ecosystem in Europe in 2022? Or the best startup Ecosystem on Asia, or the Middle East?  You will find the answer here.

This week, StartupBlink published the Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2022, its annual ranking of startup ecosystems worldwide. The Index is accompanied by a 400+ page report which presents a detailed analysis of the Index, covering the 100 best countries for startups worldwide, and the 1000 best cities.

In this blog article, I will provide key insights on some of the best startup ecosystems in Europe, Asia and Middle East, and generally – in the world.

If you’re interested in understanding how the ranking was done, and what’s the rationale behind it, read the report’s methodology chapter.

The UK is Europe’s top country for high impact startups

Key insights about the UK startup scene are:

• The United Kingdom is the 2^nd best country for startups globally, preceded only by the US. This year, the UK has opened a gap between its score and the score of Israel, ranked 3^rd worldwide, thereby solidifying the UK’s position as 2^nd best startup country worldwide.
• The UK is Europe’s best performing country for startups, with a score that is almost double the score of Sweden, the EU’s top startup country.
• The UK now has 78 startup ecosystems (cities) among the world’s top 1000 ecosystems, 20 more than last year. With the exception of the US, no other country has as many cities among the world’s top 1000 startup ecosystems. By comparison, China and India have “only” 44 and 37 such cities, respectively. Within Europe, the UK’s main contenders are Germany and Spain, both with 39 ranked cities among the world’s top 1000 ecosystems. Taking its population size into consideration, the UK is ranked 9^th worldwide for the number of ranked cities per capita (1.17 cities per 1 million inhabitants).
• Three UK cities rank among Europe’s top 20 startup ecosystem cities: London (1^st in Europe), Manchester (14^th) and Cambridge (16^th).
• London is the 3^rd best city for startups worldwide, preceded only by San Francisco and New York. London’s score is roughly 2.5 better than its first European contender (Paris), clearly showing that in spite of Brexit, London is still the place where startups scale up most in Europe, by far.
• A few UK cities have also enjoyed a jump of more than 50 spots in the rankings in 2022. Those include Leeds, Newcastle upon Tyne, and Sheffield.
• Edinburgh is the 8^th best startup ecosystem worldwide, among cities with population between 300 thousand and 1 million. Edinburgh ranks 6^th best city worldwide for startups in the Energy & Environment industry (London ranks “only” 14^th).
• Cambridge and Oxford are the 1^st and 3^rd best startup ecosystem worldwide respectively, among cities with population between 100 thousand and 300 thousand
• 16% of startup funding in the UK goes to early stage startups, and 84% to medium and late stage startups.

More information about the UK startup ecosystem is available here: https://www.startupblink.com/startupecosystem/united-kingdom

Sweden is the EU’s #1 startup ecosystem country

Key insights about Sweden’s startup scene are:

• In 2022, Sweden is the best startup ecosystem in the EU!
• Sweden ranks 2^nd in Europe, and 5^th worldwide, which is a major improvement from its rank as 10^th in 2020. Sweden overtook Germany as the best performing EU country for startup ecosystems in 2022.
• Sweden ranks 1^st worldwide in its business environment score, which measures how entrepreneurship-friendly the country is. Sweden demonstrates how a small country can score extremely well in the global arena, offering a business friendly environment for startups to thrive.
• Sweden also ranks 1^st worldwide in the number of startup ecosystems (cities) per capita. With 21 such ranked cities (versus only 10 cities in 2021), Sweden boasts 2.06 startup ecosystems per 1 million inhabitants, more than any other country worldwide.
• 5% of startup funding in Sweden goes to early stage startups, and 95% to medium and late stage startups.
• Among cities, Stockholm is the 23rd highest ranked startup ecosystem worldwide, the 4th in Europe, the 3rd in the EU and the #1 startup ecosystem in Sweden.
• Stockholm is the highest ranking startup ecosystem worldwide (!) among cities with population between 1 million and 3 million
• Stockholm’s startup ecosystem ranks 6^th worldwide in the Social & Leisure tech industry, 9^th in Energy & Environment, 14^th in Fintech, 21^st in Healthtech, 26^th in transportation, and 30^th in Edtech and in Hardware & IoT
• Two Swedish cities, Malmö (up 18 positions since 2021) and Gothenburg (up 6 positions) have also boosted the Swedish ecosystem status this year, closing gaps with the country’s top ecosystem, Stockholm. Uppsala booked great results last year, and is now ranked the 4^th best performing startup ecosystem in Sweden.
• For some of my Swedish friends, I’ll mention that the intriguing city of Lulea, home of successful IT companies in the area of Customs IT solutions, now ranks the 16^th best startup ecosystem in Sweden, and 849^th

More information about the Swedish startup ecosystem is available here: https://www.startupblink.com/startupecosystem/sweden

The Netherlands is the 4th best country for startups in the EU

Key insights about the Dutch startup scene are:

• Amsterdam is the 5^th highest ranking city in Europe (4^th in the EU), and the 27^th best ranking city worldwide.
• Amsterdam is the 2^nd highest ranking startup ecosystem worldwide among cities with population between 1 million and 3 million
• Amsterdam’s startup ecosystem ranks 12^th worldwide in the Fintech industry, 13^th in Hardware & IoT, 15^th in Social & Leisure tech, 25^th in the Ecommerce & Retail industry, 26^th in Edtech, 28^th in Energy & Environment and 29^th in Marketing & Sales tech.
• The Netherlands ranks the 11^th best country worldwide, with a very small gap from France and China, ranked 9^th and 10^th.
• The Netherlands is the 5^th highest ranked country in Europe, and the 4^th in the EU
• Overall, 23 cities from the Netherlands are ranked among the world’s 1000 best startup ecosystems. Amsterdam is by far the most successful ecosystem, with a score that is more than 5 times the score of The Hague, the 2^nd highest ranked Dutch startup ecosystem.
• With these 23 cities, the Netherlands is ranked 8^th worldwide in the number of ranked startup ecosystems per capita, boasting 1.33 cities per 1 million inhabitants.
• The top 8 startup ecosystems in the Netherlands are: Amsterdam, The Hague, Eindhoven, Utrecht, Rotterdam, Maastricht, Nijmegen and Enschede.
• 9% of startup funding in the Netherlands goes to early stage startups, and 91% to medium and late stage startups.

More information about the Dutch startup ecosystem is available here: https://www.startupblink.com/startupecosystem/the-netherlands

Israel is the world’s 3rd best place for Startups

Key insights about the Israeli startup scene are:

• Israel is the 3^rd most successful country for startups, worldwide. But Canada – ranked 4^th – is gradually closing the gaps, while the UK – ranked 2^nd – is opening a gap from Israel.
• When considering population size, Israel has produced more special entities (such as unicorns and exits) per capita than any other country, even the US.
• Israel is by far the top place for startups in the Middle East. Its score is 379% better than the score of the UAE, which is the 2^nd most successful startup country in the Middle East.
• 27 cities from the Middle East are ranked among the world’s top 1000 cities for startups. 13 of them (!!) are from Israel.
• Israel’s 13 ranked startup ecosystems put the country in the position of the 7^th best ranked country worldwide, for the number of startup ecosystems per capita (1.44 ecosystems per 1 million inhabitants).
• Israel’s regional dominance is absolute, with 67% of the startup funding for the Middle East & Africa funneled to fund promising Israeli innovations.
• Tel Aviv is the 9^th highest best performing city worldwide for startups, a 1-spot drop from 2021.
• Tel Aviv Area is the 2^nd best performing startup ecosystem worldwide, among ecosystems with population between 3 million and 10 million.
• Tel Aviv ranks 4th worldwide in the Fintech industry, 6^th in Marketing & Sales tech and in Software & Data, 7^th in Social & Leisure tech, 9^th in transportation tech, 10^th in Energy & Environment tech and in Hardware & IoT, 13^th in Edtech, and 30^th in Ecommerce & Retail.
• Jerusalem is Israel’s 2^nd highest ranked startup ecosystem, now ranking 86^th
• Jerusalem is the 6^th best performing startup ecosystem worldwide, among ecosystems with population between 300 thousand and 1 million.
• Three of the top 5 startup cities in the Middle East & Africa region are Israeli: Tel Aviv (1^st), Jerusalem (4^th) and Haifa (5^th). Six of the top 20 startup cities in the Middle East & Africa region are Israeli.
• Two startup ecosystems in Israel have progressed well in the last year. These are Caesarea-Or Akiva (now ranked 340^th worldwide) and Modiin-Maccabim-Reut (511^th worldwide), Israel’s 6^th and 7^th most successful startup ecosystems.

More information about the Israeli startup ecosystem is available here: https://www.startupblink.com/startupecosystem/israel

Singapore overtook China as the best startup ecosystem in Asia

Key insights about the Singapore startup scene are:

• Great news for Singapore, as this year it overtook China and became the most successful country for startups in the Asia Pacific region, now ranked 7^th worldwide (China dropped to 10^th, which was Singapore’s rank last year).
• Singapore’s achievement becomes even greater when examining its score in the global startup ecosystem Index. Last year, China’s score was 10% higher than Singapore’s. In 2022, Singapore not only closed this gap; Singapore’s score is now an impressive 13% higher than China.
• Singapore’s achievement is remarkable, give its small population. In fact, when considering Singapore’s population, its startup scene is 2nd only to Israel.
• Singapore City, ranked 22^nd among the world’s best cities for startups, has registered a jump of 3 spots in 2022, to become a powerful regional hub in Asia. Singapore City is the 8^th highest ranked city in the Asia Pacific region.
• Singapore City ranks well in Fintech, at 10th in the world. It ranks 14^th worldwide in the Ecommerce & Retail industry, 19^th in Edtech, 26^th in Software & Data, and 27^th in Marketing & Sales tech.
• Singapore City is the 7^th best startup ecosystem worldwide, among cities with population between 3 million and 10 million.

More information about the Singapore startup ecosystem is available here: https://singapore.startupblink.com/

Do you want to read more about the world’s best startup ecosystems?

The Index is available as an interactive map and tables (where you can use filters for regions, population tiers etc) on StartupBlink’s website https://www.startupblink.com/.

You can download the full report from here: https://lp.startupblink.com/report/

Suggested reading:

1. 27+ Frequently Asked Questions About Startups
2. What Is The Best Startup Ecosystem in 2021?
3. What Are The Most Promising Startups During COVID19?

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