My favorite RFID analysts, IDTechEx, have come out once again with another fascinating report. This time, they have compiled a report showing the countries that have adopted RFID the most.

The United States tops the list, with the United Kingdom the second in line. After that it is Japan, Germany, China, France, Australia, Netherlands, Korea and Canada.

This list is surprising in several senses. I'm not surprised by the U.S. topping the list, but I would have expected Korea to rank higher, given its U-City initiative.

And as the IdTechEx report points out, Australia has jumped up three notches:

What is going on in Australia? The rapid advance of Australia in RFID is on a broad front, from books in libraries to tagging of humans in hospitals, but one could say that about many countries. What sets Australia apart from most of its peers are aspects such as the legal requirement to tag cattle and racehorses, and the trials and rollouts of tagging fish, tomatoes and other foods by its vibrant food industry. Australia will not stop there. It is likely to introduce legislation to tag all four legged livestock ahead of most other countries. With the major trading blocs finding reasons to protect their food industries, external suppliers such as Australia, with the world's largest population of sheep, must be beyond suspicion. RFID is a part of that.

The report is based on the number of case studies about RFID in the IDTechEx database.