The World Intellectual Property Organization’s Global Innovation Index (GII) 2025 ranks Switzerland, Sweden, the United States, the Republic of Korea, and Singapore as the top innovators worldwide. They are followed by the United Kingdom, Finland, the Netherlands, Denmark, and China, which enters the top 10 for the first time. However, the report highlights a slowing growth in global innovation investments, raising concerns about the future innovation landscape.
The GII evaluates nearly 140 economies using around 80 indicators such as research and development (R&D) spending, venture capital (VC) activity, high-tech exports, and intellectual property filings. As the leading global benchmark, it serves policymakers and business leaders seeking to promote innovation and build strong ecosystems. This 18th edition of the GII shows middle-income economies like China, India, Türkiye, and Vietnam steadily climbing the rankings, with several others like Saudi Arabia and Brazil emerging as fast innovators.
The report emphasizes that innovation is a crucial driver for resilience, growth, and competitiveness. Despite encouraging progress in many areas, challenges remain that require strong policies, investments, and collaboration across sectors. Notably, 17 low- and middle-income countries outperform expectations, with India and Vietnam leading long-term overperformance, while Sub-Saharan Africa shows promising gains in innovation as well.
In terms of key trends, global R&D growth slowed to 2.9% in 2024—the lowest since 2010—and is expected to decelerate further. Corporate R&D spending growth was restrained by high inflation, with sectors like AI and pharmaceuticals increasing budgets while automotive and consumer goods cut back. Venture capital deal values rebounded mostly due to large U.S.-based investments in AI, though the total number of deals declined globally, signaling cautious investor sentiment outside core technology sectors.
Patent filings saw a modest rebound, with South Korea experiencing strong growth, but declines continued in the US, Japan, and Germany. Technological progress remains strong in areas such as battery technology, supercomputing, and genome sequencing, while adoption of robotics and electric vehicles slowed. Improvements in socioeconomic factors like labor productivity and life expectancy were also observed, yet the global innovation engine is hampered by slower financial commitments.
Regionally, Southeast Asia, East Asia, and Oceania continue to drive global innovation with six economies in the top 25, led by South Korea and Singapore. China remains the leading middle-income innovator, and countries like the Philippines and Cambodia show notable advances. This region hosts a growing concentration of innovation clusters, reflecting its central role in global innovation.
Central and Southern Asia shows rising innovation outputs, with India leading the region and continuing to excel in ICT exports and startup financing. Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan also contribute to the region’s growth through improvements in productivity and digital services. Kyrgyzstan and Nepal are notable for education and energy innovations, with Nepal leading in microfinance access.
Northern Africa and Western Asia experienced momentum, with Israel maintaining a top position globally and the United Arab Emirates entering the top 30. Countries like Morocco, Bahrain, and Jordan are rapidly improving, supported by increased R&D capacity, intellectual property activity, and innovation financing despite global economic challenges.
Sub-Saharan Africa also advances steadily, led by Mauritius and South Africa, with improvements in venture capital and education spending. Namibia made significant progress, and countries like Senegal, Nigeria, and Rwanda continue to lead innovation overperformance in the region. New entrants like Seychelles and Malawi highlight growing institutional capacity and entrepreneurial ecosystems.
In Latin America and the Caribbean, Chile leads followed by Brazil and Mexico, with the latter maintaining strong high-tech manufacturing. While some countries show steady innovation output, the region faces gaps between inputs and outcomes, underscoring the need for better institutional environments and financing access.
Northern America remains the world’s most innovative region, with the US holding third place globally thanks to its business sophistication and corporate R&D investment. The US innovation ecosystem benefits from dynamic startup funding and strong private sector involvement. Canada stands out for university-industry collaboration but faces challenges in innovation output and labor productivity.
Europe hosts 15 economies in the global top 25, led by Switzerland, Sweden, the UK, and Finland. Many European countries have improved their rankings, with Ireland, Belgium, and Norway making notable gains. Eastern European nations like Lithuania show solid momentum, excelling in digital innovation and unicorn valuation. Europe’s innovation clusters are strong but lag behind the US in venture capital strength.
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