Global Innovation Index Explained

The Global Innovation Index is an annual ranking of countries by their capacity for, and success in, innovation, published by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). It was started in 2007 by INSEAD and World Business, a British magazine. Until 2021 it was published by WIPO, in partnership with Cornell University, INSEAD and other organisations and institutions. It is based on both subjective and objective data derived from several sources, including the International Telecommunication Union, the World Bank and the World Economic Forum.

History

The index was started in 2007 by INSEAD and World Business, a British magazine. It was created by Soumitra Dutta.^[1]

Methodology

The index is computed by taking a simple average of the scores in two sub-indices, the Innovation Input Index and Innovation Output Index, which are composed of five and two pillars respectively. Each of these pillars describe an attribute of innovation, and comprise up to five indicators, and their score is calculated by the weighted average method.

Since its inception in 2007, an increasing number of governments systematically analyze their annual GII results and design policy responses to improve their performance.^{[2] [3] [4] [5] [6]} The index is mentioned in a resolution on science, technology and innovation for sustainable development adopted on 19 December 2019 by the General Assembly of the United Nations.

The index has been criticized for giving excessive significance attributed to factors that aren’t integral to innovation. For instance, “Ease of Paying Taxes“, “Electricity Output“ (half-weightage) and “Ease of Protecting Minority Investors” are factors alongside “Ease of Getting Credit” and “Venture Capital Deals“.^[7]

Themes

Every two years the GII covers a theme related to innovation which goes beyond the innovation rankings. In 2020, the theme was “Who will finance innovation?” shedding light on the state of innovation financing by investigating the evolution of existing mechanisms and pointing to progress and remaining challenges. Previous GII themes covered health innovation, environmental innovation, agricultural and food innovation, and others.^[8]

Ranking

The Global Innovation Index 2024 (GII) scores 133 countries.^{[9] [10]} Sorting is in descending order by score.

+	Rank	Country	Score	Income group
1		67.5	High-income
2		64.5	High-income
3		62.4	High-income
4		61.2	High-income
5		61.0	High-income
6		60.9	High-income
7		59.4	High-income
8		58.8	High-income
9		58.1	High-income
10		57.1	High-income
11		56.3	Upper middle-income
12		55.4	High-income
13		54.1	High-income
14		52.9	High-income
15		52.7	High-income
16		52.3	High-income
17		50.3	High-income
18		50.1	High-income
19		50.0	High-income
20		49.1	High-income
21		49.1	High-income
22		48.5	High-income
23		48.1	High-income
24		47.7	High-income
25		45.9	High-income
26		45.3	High-income
27		45.1	High-income
28		44.9	High-income
29		44.8	High-income
30		44.0	High-income
31		43.7	High-income
32		42.8	High-income
33		40.5	Upper middle-income
34		40.2	High-income
35		40.1	High-income
36		39.6	High-income
37		39.0	Upper middle-income
38		38.5	Upper middle-income
39		38.3	Lower middle-income
40		37.0	High-income
41		36.9	Upper middle-income
42		36.4	High-income
43		36.3	High-income
44		36.2	Lower middle-income
45		36.2	High-income
46		34.3	High-income
47		33.9	High-income
48		33.4	High-income
49		32.9	High-income
50		32.7	Upper middle-income
51		32.6	High-income
52		32.3	Upper middle-income
53		31.1	Lower middle-income
54		30.6	Upper middle-income
55		30.6	Upper middle-income
56		30.4	Upper middle-income
57		30.4	Upper middle-income
58		29.9	Upper middle-income
59		29.7	High-income
60		29.5	Lower middle-income
61		29.2	Upper middle-income
62		29.1	High-income
63		29.0	Upper middle-income
64		28.9	Lower middle-income
65		28.9	Upper middle-income
66		28.8	Lower middle-income
67		28.7	Lower middle-income
68		28.7	Upper middle-income
69		28.3	Upper middle-income
70		28.3	Upper middle-income
71		28.1	High-income
72		27.6	High-income
73		27.5	Lower middle-income
74		27.1	High-income
75		26.7	Upper middle-income
76		26.4	Upper middle-income
77		26.1	High-income
78		25.7	Upper middle-income
79		25.7	Upper middle-income
80		25.5	Upper middle-income
81		25.4	Lower middle-income
82		24.7	High-income
83		24.7	Lower middle-income
84		24.5	Upper middle-income
85		24.2	Upper middle-income
86		23.7	Lower middle-income
87		23.1	Upper middle-income
88		22.8	High-income
89		22.6	Lower middle-income
90		22.3	Lower middle-income
91		22.0	Lower middle-income
92		22.0	Lower middle-income
93		21.9	Upper middle-income
94		21.5	Lower middle-income
95		21.3	Upper middle-income
96		21.0	Lower middle-income
97		20.8	Upper middle-income
98		20.6	Upper middle-income
99		20.4	Lower middle-income
100		20.2	Lower middle-income
101		20.0	Lower middle-income
102		20.0	Upper middle-income
103		19.9	Lower middle-income
104		19.7	Low-income
105		19.3	Upper middle-income
106		19.1	Lower middle-income
107		18.6	Lower middle-income
108		18.4	High-income
109		18.1	Lower middle-income
110		17.9	Low-income
111		17.8	Lower middle-income
112		17.5	Lower middle-income
113		17.1	Lower middle-income
114		16.7	Lower middle-income
115		16.2	Lower middle-income
116		15.7	Lower middle-income
117		15.6	Low-income
118		15.6	Lower middle-income
119		15.4	Lower middle-income
120		15.3	Lower middle-income
121		14.9	Low-income
122		14.6	Upper middle-income
123		14.4	Lower middle-income
124		14.0	Lower middle-income
125		13.8	Lower middle-income
126		13.2	Lower middle-income
127		13.2	Low-income
128		13.1	Low-income
129		12.8	Low-income
130		12.3	Low-income
131		11.8	Low-income
132		11.2	Low-income
133		10.2	Lower middle-income

See also

• International Innovation Index

Further reading

• Global innovation rankings: The innovation game. The Economist. September 17, 2015.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Academic Network – Portulans Institute . 2022-11-15 . portulansinstitute.org.
2. Web site: Republic Act No. 11293 : The Philippine Innovation Act declares the GII as a measure of innovation . 2022-11-15 . lawphil.net.
3. In July 2021, the Intellectual Property Strategy Headquarters under the Prime Minister's Office in Japan decided on the Intellectual Property Promotion Plan 2021, setting forth a plan of annual action related to intellectual property for all ministries and agencies. In the first part of the plan, WIPO's GII is cited (p.5):https://www.kantei.go.jp/jp/singi/titeki2/kettei/chizaikeikaku20210713.pdf
4. The GII is also cited throughout the official Malaysian Government report, the Twelfth Malaysia Plan (RMK12): https://rmke12.epu.gov.my/en.
5. Web site: Resolution No. 01/NQ-CP on solutions for implementation of socio economic development plan in 2021 . 2022-11-09 . LuatVietnam . en.
6. Web site: 17 September 2015. UK ranked as world-leader in innovation. 15 July 2016. Department for Business, Innovation & Skills.
7. Book: Dašić. Predrag. Dašić. Jovan. Antanasković. Dejan. Pavićević. Nina. Statistical Analysis and Modeling of Global Innovation Index (GII) of Serbia . 2020. Karabegović. Isak. New Technologies, Development and Application III. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-46817-0_59. Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems. 128. en. Cham. Springer International Publishing. 515–521. 10.1007/978-3-030-46817-0_59. 978-3-030-46817-0. 218917874. subscription.
8. Web site: Publications: Global Innovation Index . Wipo.int . 2022-05-08.
9. Web site: WIPO . Global Innovation Index 2024, 17th Edition . 2024-10-01 . www.wipo.int . en.
10. Web site: Political Economy of STI in China: Analyzing Official Discourse on Science, Technology and Innovation-Driven Development in the Contemporary China . Akhilesh . Kumar . 2024-06-12 . BRICS Journal of Economics . 2024-06-14.