19 economies outperformed their development levels. Innovation investment is falling across the globe Economic development
The world’s most innovative economies are Switzerland, Sweden, the United States, Singapore and the United Kingdom, while China, Turkey, India, Vietnam and the Philippines have improved the fastest in the last decade, according to a 2024 report by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
The Global Innovation Index (GII), whose 17th edition is being published this year, is the world’s benchmark source of information on global innovation trends.
General Decline in Innovation Activity
The 2024 edition finds a significant decline in key indicators of global innovation activity, reversing the rapid growth in innovation investment seen in 2020–22. Venture capital investment fell by about 40 percent in 2023 amid rising interest rates. R&D spending is falling across the board, while international patent applications and scientific publications have declined.
China ranked 11th in the GII core ranking, remaining the only middle-income economy in the top 30.
A total of 19 economies showed outperformance, taking into account their level of development. India, the Republic of Moldova and Vietnam have maintained their status as the fastest growing innovation economies for 14 years in a row.
The countries that have improved the most in recent years are Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Brazil, Indonesia, Mauritius and Pakistan (in descending order of their positions in the ranking). Indonesia, Pakistan and Uzbekistan continue to demonstrate leading innovation indicators for the third year in a row, and Brazil for the fourth.
Post-Soviet Countries
Of the post-Soviet countries, Estonia occupies the highest position in the ranking – 16th place. Lithuania is in 35th place, Latvia is in 42nd.
Georgia is in 57th place in the rating, Russia is in 59th place, and Ukraine is in 60th place. Armenia is in 63rd place, and Moldova is in 68th place. Kazakhstan is in 78th place in the rating, Uzbekistan is in 83rd place, and Belarus is in 85th place. Azerbaijan is in 95th place, Kyrgyzstan is in 99th place, and Tajikistan is in 107th place. Turkmenistan is not on the list of 133 countries.
The last lines of the rating are occupied by Mali, Niger, and Angola.