WIPO Releases Global Innovation Index 2025

GENEVA, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 16th Sep, 2025) The World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) has ranked Switzerland, Sweden, the United States of America, the Republic of Korea and Singapore as the top five economies in the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2025, followed by the United Kingdom, Finland, the Netherlands, Denmark and China, which entered the top 10 for the first time.

Meantime, slowing growth in innovation investments is clouding the innovation forecast, the report found.

The GII uses some 80 indicators, ranging from research and development (R&D) spending, venture capital (VC) deals, high-tech exports and intellectual property filings in evaluating nearly 140 world economies on their innovative performance. It is the world's benchmark resource for policymakers, business leaders and others in promoting innovation and building strong innovation ecosystems.

Now in its 18th edition, the GII shows that a group of middle-income economies—led by China, India (38th), Türkiye (43rd), Vietnam (44th), the Philippines (50th), Indonesia (55th), Morocco (57th) – continue their climb in the GII. Since the turn of the decade, Saudi Arabia (46th), Qatar (48th), Brazil (52nd), Mauritius (53rd), Bahrain (62nd), and Jordan (65th), have been the fastest innovation climbers.

‘’The GII 2025 maps the contours of innovation across the world, showing us that the fastest-advancing economies in the GII are those that view innovation as a fundamental engine of resilience, growth and competitiveness. This year's GII reveals both encouraging progress as well as challenges that still need to be addressed for countries to fully harness their innovation potential. It is a reminder that innovation ecosystems require support and nurturing through thoughtful policies, meaningful investments and cross-sector collaboration,'' said WIPO Director-General Daren Tang.

In GII 2025, 17 low- and middle-income economies are performing above expectations for their level of development, with India and Viet Nam as longest-running innovation overperformers.

Sub-Saharan Africa leads in the number of economies overperforming on innovation, with South Africa (61st), Senegal (89th) and Rwanda (104th) at the fore.

R&D growth fell to 2.9% in 2024, a slowdown from the 4.4% increase in the year prior and the lowest growth since the financial frisis of 2010. Growth is projected by WIPO to slow further in 2025 (2.3%).

Corporate R&D spending in real terms slowed to 1% due to persistently high inflation —far below the 4.6% average of the past decade. ICT-related firms (particularly in AI-intensive sectors), software and pharma firms expanded R&D budgets, while manufacturing firms such as in the automotive sector and consumer goods cut R&D spend in a context of declining company revenues.

VC investment values showed a rebound. Deal values rose 7.7% in 2024, largely driven by US-based megadeals and surging investment in generative AI. However, excluding these investments, VC value would have contracted.

Furthermore, the number of VC deals fell 4.4% globally in a third consecutive year of decline, signaling persistent investor caution outside a narrow set of sectors and geographies.

VC, which had been gradually expanding into a wider set of non-ICT sectors and emerging markets, now appears to be retreating toward its traditional core—namely the US-based AI- and ICT-related investments. This fails to sustain the earlier momentum toward broader sectoral and geographic VC diversification experienced just after the COVID-19 pandemic with strong VC influx into Latin America and Africa.

Intenational patent filings via WIPO rebounded (+0.5%), with strong growth in the Republic of Korea (+7%), but continued declines in the US, Japan and Germany.