Top 100 Countries by Global Innovation Index, 2025
The Global Innovation Index is the broadest cross-country benchmark for innovation capability and innovation results. The 2025 edition covers 139 economies and uses 78 indicators arranged across seven pillars, from institutions and research capacity to business sophistication, knowledge outputs and creative outputs.
The headline picture is not just continuity at the top. Switzerland remains first, Sweden second and the United States third, but the 2025 edition also captures movement inside the frontier: the Republic of Korea rises to fourth, and China enters the global top 10 for the first time. That combination makes the ranking more useful than a simple winner’s list. It shows where innovation leadership is still concentrated and where catch-up is becoming harder to dismiss.
What stands out at the top of the 2025 ranking
The upper tier is still dominated by advanced economies with deep research systems, strong intellectual property ecosystems, mature business R&D and long-developed channels for financing commercialization. Switzerland, Sweden and the United States remain the benchmark trio, but 2025 is not static. The Republic of Korea reaches fourth place, and China’s entry into the top 10 is the clearest sign that the frontier is no longer confined to the same narrow high-income core.
The top of the table also shows why composite innovation rankings should be read structurally. Economies at the frontier are not necessarily number one in any single headline metric. They stay near the top because strong institutions, universities, capital markets, firm capabilities and knowledge outputs reinforce one another over time.
Short reading: the top tier still rewards ecosystem depth, but the composition of that tier is becoming less predictable than it was a decade ago.
| Rank | Economy | GII score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Switzerland | 66.0 |
| 2 | Sweden | 62.6 |
| 3 | United States | 61.7 |
| 4 | Republic of Korea | 60.0 |
| 5 | Singapore | 59.9 |
| 6 | United Kingdom | 59.1 |
| 7 | Finland | 57.7 |
| 8 | Netherlands (Kingdom of the) | 57.0 |
| 9 | Denmark | 56.9 |
| 10 | China | 56.6 |
Source: WIPO Global Innovation Index 2025 ranking. Snapshot checked on April 12, 2026.
Chart 1. Top 20 economies by GII score
The top 20 distribution makes two things clear. First, the frontier is dense rather than isolated: the score spread across the first 10 positions is tight. Second, the decline from the top tier into the rest of the top 20 is gradual, which is what a composite index usually looks like when ecosystem depth matters more than one dominant output.
Scores are official WIPO GII 2025 values. Bar length is scaled against Switzerland’s score of 66.0.
Top 100 countries and economies by Global Innovation Index score, 2025
WIPO publishes a 139-economy ranking in the 2025 edition. The table below lists the first 100 positions in that official ordering. Search, filtering and sorting help with navigation, while all rows remain visible in the page source.
| Rank | Economy | GII score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Switzerland | 66.0 |
| 2 | Sweden | 62.6 |
| 3 | United States | 61.7 |
| 4 | Republic of Korea | 60.0 |
| 5 | Singapore | 59.9 |
| 6 | United Kingdom | 59.1 |
| 7 | Finland | 57.7 |
| 8 | Netherlands (Kingdom of the) | 57.0 |
| 9 | Denmark | 56.9 |
| 10 | China | 56.6 |
| 11 | Germany | 55.5 |
| 12 | Japan | 53.6 |
| 13 | France | 53.4 |
| 14 | Israel | 52.3 |
| 15 | Hong Kong, China | 51.5 |
| 16 | Estonia | 51.1 |
| 17 | Canada | 51.1 |
| 18 | Ireland | 50.4 |
| 19 | Austria | 50.1 |
| 20 | Norway | 49.2 |
| 21 | Belgium | 48.5 |
| 22 | Australia | 48.0 |
| 23 | Luxembourg | 47.3 |
| 24 | Iceland | 47.0 |
| 25 | Cyprus | 45.5 |
| 26 | New Zealand | 45.5 |
| 27 | Malta | 45.4 |
| 28 | Italy | 44.9 |
| 29 | Spain | 44.6 |
| 30 | United Arab Emirates | 44.2 |
| 31 | Portugal | 43.9 |
| 32 | Czech Republic | 42.0 |
| 33 | Lithuania | 40.8 |
| 34 | Malaysia | 40.6 |
| 35 | Slovenia | 40.1 |
| 36 | Hungary | 40.0 |
| 37 | Bulgaria | 39.1 |
| 38 | India | 38.2 |
| 39 | Poland | 37.7 |
| 40 | Croatia | 37.7 |
| 41 | Latvia | 37.5 |
| 42 | Greece | 37.4 |
| 43 | Türkiye | 37.2 |
| 44 | Viet Nam | 37.1 |
| 45 | Thailand | 36.7 |
| 46 | Saudi Arabia | 36.0 |
| 47 | Slovakia | 35.5 |
| 48 | Qatar | 34.6 |
| 49 | Romania | 34.3 |
| 50 | Philippines | 33.6 |
| 51 | Chile | 33.1 |
| 52 | Brazil | 32.9 |
| 53 | Mauritius | 32.5 |
| 54 | Serbia | 31.7 |
| 55 | Indonesia | 31.3 |
| 56 | Georgia | 31.2 |
| 57 | Morocco | 31.1 |
| 58 | Mexico | 30.5 |
| 59 | Armenia | 30.5 |
| 60 | Russian Federation | 30.3 |
| 61 | South Africa | 30.1 |
| 62 | Bahrain | 30.0 |
| 63 | North Macedonia | 29.8 |
| 64 | Montenegro | 29.8 |
| 65 | Jordan | 29.7 |
| 66 | Ukraine | 29.7 |
| 67 | Albania | 29.6 |
| 68 | Uruguay | 28.8 |
| 69 | Oman | 28.7 |
| 70 | Iran (Islamic Republic of) | 28.5 |
| 71 | Colombia | 28.5 |
| 72 | Costa Rica | 28.4 |
| 73 | Kuwait | 28.2 |
| 74 | Republic of Moldova | 27.4 |
| 75 | Seychelles | 27.2 |
| 76 | Tunisia | 27.0 |
| 77 | Argentina | 26.8 |
| 78 | Mongolia | 26.7 |
| 79 | Uzbekistan | 26.5 |
| 80 | Peru | 26.5 |
| 81 | Kazakhstan | 26.3 |
| 82 | Panama | 25.9 |
| 83 | Jamaica | 25.2 |
| 84 | Barbados | 25.1 |
| 85 | Belarus | 25.1 |
| 86 | Egypt | 24.7 |
| 87 | Botswana | 24.6 |
| 88 | Brunei Darussalam | 24.5 |
| 89 | Senegal | 23.8 |
| 90 | Lebanon | 23.6 |
| 91 | Namibia | 23.5 |
| 92 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 23.4 |
| 93 | Sri Lanka | 22.9 |
| 94 | Azerbaijan | 22.9 |
| 95 | Cabo Verde | 22.6 |
| 96 | Kyrgyzstan | 22.6 |
| 97 | Dominican Republic | 22.6 |
| 98 | El Salvador | 22.2 |
| 99 | Pakistan | 22.1 |
| 100 | Cambodia | 22.0 |
Source: WIPO Global Innovation Index 2025 executive ranking table. Official 2025 edition checked on April 12, 2026.
Chart 2. Broad regional distribution inside this Top 100
Europe remains the deepest bench when the top 100 is regrouped into five broad editorial regions for navigation. Asia combines frontier leaders with some of the most credible climbers. The Americas still place several strong advanced and upper-middle-income performers, while MENA has become more visible in the middle of the ranking. Africa’s presence is smaller, but it still includes economies that outperform what their income level alone would suggest.
These regional labels are simplified editorial groupings used for filtering here. WIPO publishes its own official regional ranking framework separately.
Methodology
The Global Innovation Index 2025 is a composite benchmark built by WIPO to compare innovation performance across 139 economies. The framework uses 78 indicators organized into seven pillars: Institutions; Human capital and research; Infrastructure; Market sophistication; Business sophistication; Knowledge and technology outputs; and Creative outputs. The first five pillars capture innovation inputs, while the last two reflect innovation outputs.
WIPO explains that the 2025 edition draws primarily on data from 2023 to 2025, using the most recent available values for each indicator within the publication window. That matters because the index is not a pure same-year scoreboard. Some components are hard statistical series, some are composite measures and a smaller set comes from internationally recognized survey-based sources.
The top 100 table is transcribed from the official WIPO executive ranking table. Scores are shown to one decimal place, matching the published format. Table rows are written directly into the markup. Scripts are used only for search, sorting and row visibility.
The main limitation is comparability over time. WIPO cautions against reading annual rank movements too mechanically because data availability changes and the framework is refined over time. A country moving up a few places can reflect genuine ecosystem progress, a shift in the underlying data mix, or both. The index is most useful when comparing score bands, peer groups and structural strengths rather than over-reading small changes in position.
Key insights from the 2025 ranking
- Innovation leadership still depends on system quality. The highest-ranked economies combine predictable institutions, strong education and research, business R&D, deep capital markets and commercialization capacity.
- Asia now spans the full ladder. The Republic of Korea’s rise to fourth and China’s entry into the top 10 show that Asia is no longer only a catch-up story. Lower down the list, India, Viet Nam, the Philippines and Indonesia reinforce the same pattern from different income levels and development stages.
- Europe’s advantage is depth. Europe does not dominate only through podium places. It supplies the deepest concentration of top 100 entries, which matters because innovation resilience is often built through a long middle tier of capable economies rather than a few famous champions.
- The middle of the table contains the most interesting movement. Economies ranked roughly between 30 and 80 are often the ones improving export sophistication, startup capacity, digital infrastructure, university output or business linkages without yet matching the institutional density of the top 20.
- Composite rankings need structural reading. A strong GII position does not mean that every part of an economy is equally innovative. It signals that, taken together, the research base, financing channels, firm capabilities and output indicators are stronger than in peer economies.
Most important takeaway: small changes in rank matter less than durable score strength across multiple pillars.
What this means for the reader
For investors and founders, the ranking is a quick way to identify where innovation ecosystems are broad rather than narrow. Economies high in the index are more likely to combine research talent, startup finance, IP activity, supplier sophistication and commercialization capacity. That does not guarantee returns, but it does improve the odds that ideas can move from lab to market.
For skilled workers and students, the GII helps explain why some labor markets feel deeper and more internationally connected than others. Economies that perform well tend to offer stronger research institutions, more knowledge-intensive employment and wider opportunities in technology, advanced manufacturing and creative industries.
For policymakers, the ranking is best read as a diagnostic rather than a trophy board. An economy outside the top 20 does not need to copy Switzerland or Silicon Valley wholesale. The more practical question is which pillar is holding performance back: institutions, talent formation, infrastructure, finance, business linkages or commercialization.
For readers trying to interpret innovation headlines more broadly, the main lesson is simple: durable innovation performance is not just about patents or AI buzz. It depends on systems that repeatedly convert research, regulation, skills, finance and business adoption into usable outputs over time.
FAQ
Why is Switzerland still number one?
Because the index rewards balanced innovation systems, not one standout metric. Switzerland remains exceptionally strong across institutions, business sophistication, knowledge creation and creative outputs, which keeps it at the top even when other economies lead in specific sub-indicators.
Why does China entering the top 10 matter so much in 2025?
Because it marks the first time China has reached the global top 10 in the GII. WIPO also notes that China remains the only middle-income economy inside the top 30, which makes its position especially important for how readers interpret innovation catch-up.
Does a higher GII rank automatically mean a richer country?
Not automatically. Innovation and income are related, but they are not the same thing. The GII captures research capacity, institutions, venture funding, knowledge outputs and creative performance, so an economy can innovate above its income level or underperform despite being wealthy.
Why do some middle-income economies rank better than expected?
Because the index measures both inputs and outputs. Economies such as India, Viet Nam or the Philippines can perform strongly on knowledge creation, export sophistication, startup activity or research efficiency even when income per person is still below advanced-economy levels.
Can this ranking be compared directly with last year’s list?
Only with caution. WIPO warns that annual comparisons are affected by methodological refinements and data availability. A move of a few places can reflect both real change and technical updates in the underlying data mix.
Why are Hong Kong, China and other non-sovereign economies listed?
Because WIPO ranks economies, not only sovereign states. That is why the official table includes economies such as Hong Kong, China alongside countries.
What is a strong score in this ranking?
In the 2025 edition, scores above the mid-50s place an economy in the global innovation frontier, the top 50 cut-off is 33.6 and the top 100 cut-off is 22.0. Context matters more than the raw number. The most useful comparison is against peers in the same income band or region.
Sources
- WIPO Global Innovation Index 2025 main page. Current edition overview, scope and access to the publication and ranking tools.
https://www.wipo.int/en/web/global-innovation-index/2025/index - WIPO GII 2025 results. Official narrative summary of the 2025 edition, including leadership changes, regional dynamics and overperformers.
https://www.wipo.int/web-publications/global-innovation-index-2025/en/gii-2025-results.html - WIPO GII 2025 at a glance. Concise official summary confirming the 2025 leaders, scope and headline shifts in the ranking.
https://www.wipo.int/web-publications/global-innovation-index-2025/en/gii-2025-at-a-glance.html - WIPO Appendix III: Sources and definitions. Technical reference for the 78 indicators, data years and source definitions used in the 2025 framework.
https://www.wipo.int/web-publications/global-innovation-index-2025/en/appendix-iii-sources-and-definitions.html - WIPO economy ranking explorer. Official economy-level ranking interface and country briefs for the 2025 edition.
https://www.wipo.int/gii-ranking/en/
Latest official edition available from WIPO as of April 12, 2026. Table values reproduce the published 2025 ranking scores.
