Tel Aviv has once again snagged an international honor – this time as one of the world’s most creative cities. Canada’s Globe and Mail newspaper lists the White City together with London, Sydney, Stockholm and Shanghai as global centers of technological innovation.

“The entire population of Israel may only number seven million-smaller than New York City-but this Middle Eastern state spends more of its GDP on research and development than any other nation,” the newspaper reported.

The newspaper highlighted recent exits made by Israeli companies – all with offices in or near Tel Aviv. They included US chipmaker Broadcom’s purchase of Provigent for $313 million; Google’s $70 million paycheck to app developer Snaptu; and eBay’s buyout of e-commerce site The Gifts Project for a reported $20 million.

The report also stated that companies like the facial recognition software — Face.com – and crowd-sourced GPS navigator, Waze, will only secure Tel Aviv’s “bright future.”

The report showed that in the first three quarters of 2011 alone, 422 Israeli start-ups raised $1.57 billion in venture capital, and an estimated 250 multinationals maintain R&D operations there.

“What we do know is that while Tel Aviv is small, it’s one giant innovation engine,” said the report.

The Globe and Mail‘s honor is the latest feather in Tel Aviv’s cap. In 2010, the National Geographic magazine listed Tel Aviv among the world’s best beach cities. Later that year, the Lonely Planet travel guide named Tel Aviv the third best city in the world.