In this article, we discuss the 5 most advanced countries in electronics. If you want to check out our detailed analysis of the electronics industry, go instead to 12 Most Advanced Countries in Electronics.
5. Hong Kong
Hong Kong has a thriving electronics industry. In 2020, it was the largest exporter of ICs and the second largest exporter of smartphones, PCs and cameras. It increased its exports by 28% in the following year.
Hong Kong is also home to a number of research institutions and universities that are among the frontier institutes in research in electronics. Two of these include the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK).
4. Japan
Japan is a global leader in technology and is one of the most advanced countries in electronics, with world-class companies like Toshiba, Sony, Panasonic and Hitachi. The country is also the largest manufacturer of industrial robots, with 45% of the robots in the world made in Japan.
Japan’s electronics-production value is one of the highest in the world, and grew further by nearly 11% in 2021, per Statista. Its go-to research institutes for electronics are University of Tokyo and the Tokyo Institute of Technology.
Tokyo, with a very high score of 234, is considered the second best place in terms of quality of R&D in electronics by FDI Intelligence.
3. Taiwan
Taiwan is one of the key players in the global electronics industry and is highly advanced in the sector. Its chip manufacturer, TSMC, controls over 50% of the global chip market. TSMC is a cutting edge company planning to push Moore’s law to 2 nm by 2025. It currently manufactures 5 nm chips that are used in devices of companies like Apple. Foxconn and Quanta Computer are two other of Taiwan’s notable electronics manufacturers.
2. South Korea
South Korea is located in Far-East-Asia. Its Seoul city has the highest score, at 288, in the FDI Intelligence report for being the best place in whole world for quality research and development in the field of electronics.
It is home to Samsung, the third largest electronics company in the world after Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Nvidia Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA). Samsung is also the main competitor of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in smartphones.
Other notable South Korean companies include LG (acronym for Life’s Good) and SK Hynix. South Korea also has dedicated electronics-research organizations like Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI).
In 2019, the country was responsible for 6% of the global KTI output, with electronics comprising 9% out of its overall KTI share for the year.
1. United States
The United States is arguably the most advanced country in electronics, due to the sheer quantity of electronics-companies working in bleeding edge technologies in the country.
Some of these include Nvidia, Intel, AMD and Apple. Further, FDI Intelligence considers New York City the sixth best place in the world for electronics-talent and infrastructure, with a high score of 180. It is also ahead of other countries in research in electronics through institutes like MIT, Stanford University and Harvard University.
You can also take a peek at 25 Least Developed Countries in the World and 10 Wealthiest Families in the World.