Global Innovation Index 2025: The world is shifting in terms of innovation: the world is witnessing the rise of cutting-edge technologies in AI and quantum computing, but the pace of R&D has reduced.
As of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) Global Innovation Index (GII) 2025, the rate of growth in the R&D was measured at 2.9 per cent in 2024, and is estimated at 2.3 per cent in 2025.
This is a significant fall after a 4.4 per cent growth last year which was the lowest since the 2010 financial crisis.
The most innovative region is Europe where 15 countries are included in the top 25 across the world with 6 of them in the top 10, 2nd after Switzerland with the top position at number 1 and Sweden at the 2nd place.
North America is robust with the United States and Canada coming in at position 3 and 17 respectively.
In the meantime, Southeast Asia, East Asia and Oceania (SEAO) are also becoming global innovation powerhouses with six economies forming top 25.
It is interesting to note that China is the 10th of the 10 top in the world in terms of output of knowledge and technology, lead in the number of patents applied, and placed 2nd in the global number of R&D spending, and a number of the top innovation hubs in the world are located in China.
Top 10 Most Innovative Countries in the World 2025:
| Global Innovation Index (GII) 2025 | ||||
| GII Rank 2025 | Country | GII Score 2025 | Income Group Rank | Region Rank |
| 1 | Switzerland | 66 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Sweden | 62.6 | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | United States | 61.7 | 3 | 1 |
| 4 | Republic of Korea | 60 | 4 | 1 |
| 5 | Singapore | 59.9 | 5 | 2 |
| 6 | United Kingdom | 59.1 | 6 | 3 |
| 7 | Finland | 57.7 | 7 | 4 |
| 8 | Netherlands (Kingdom of the) | 57 | 8 | 5 |
| 9 | Denmark | 56.9 | 9 | 6 |
| 10 | China | 56.6 | 1 | 3 |
Source and Methodology: Global Innovation Index 2025 by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO). The index evaluates 139 economies on over 80 indicators that measure innovation inputs and outputs.
Where does India stand in terms of Global Innovation Index 2025?
India is at the top in terms of Knowledge and Technology Outputs (#22) and Market Sophistication (#38) and has the lowest at Business Sophistication (#64), Infrastructure (#61), and Institutions (#58).
In general, India has risen steadily since 2020, reaching the 38 th place in 2025, and, more to the point, it takes the 1 st position among the lower-middle-income economies as well as in the Central and Southern Asia region.
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