Global Innovation Index 2026

About Global Innovation Index 2026

• Global Innovation Index 2026 has been released by World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
• 2026 Edition: This is the 19th edition of the GII. 
• Coverage: It ranked the innovation performance of 139 economies, maps the world’s top 100 innovation clusters, and tracks the main global innovation trends.
• Findings of the Index:
  • Switzerland is the most innovative economy in 2026 followed by Sweden and the United States.
  • The leading economies remain largely the same as in 2025, with no new economy entering the top 15.
  • Europe once again has the largest share of innovation leaders, accounting for 14 of the 25 leading economies.
  • Asia also maintains a strong presence among the top 25 innovation economies, with five economies, Republic of Korea, Singapore, China, Japan and Hong Kong, China in the list.
  • Switzerland, China, India and Rwanda lead their respective income groups.
  • Thailand strengthens its position among upper-middle-income economies.
  • Kazakhstan, Bhutan and Saudi Arabia lead their respective regions.
  • Top Innovation Clusters: The Shenzhen–Hong Kong–Guangzhou cluster emerged as the world’s most innovative cluster overall.
    • Tokyo–Yokohama ranked second, followed by San Jose–San Francisco at No. 3, which topped the index for innovation intensity.
    • Bengaluru and Delhi were ranked at No. 25 and No. 27 in the list, respectively.
• India’s Performance in the Index
  • India ranks 38th among the 139 economies featured in the GII 2026.
  • India ranks 1st among the 36 Lower middle-income group economies and among the 11 economies in Central and Southern Asia.
  • India ranks 49th in innovation inputs and 25th in innovation outputs. 

About Global Innovation Index

• Global Innovation Index tracks and ranks science and technology hubs across the globe.
• It is considered as the world’s leading reference for measuring innovation.
  • The UN and other member states use the index as a key reference for shaping science and technology policies across the globe.
• Released by: It is released by World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
• First edition: It was published in in 2007.
• Aim: It aims to provide an innovation ranking and rich analysis referencing around 140 economies.
• It has two sub-indices: the Innovation Input Sub-Index and the Innovation Output Sub-Index. It has seven pillars:
  • Innovation Input Sub-Index: It has five pillars which cover the economic conditions that enable innovation. They are Institutions, Human Capital and Research, Infrastructure, Market Sophistication and Business Sophistication. 
  • Innovation Output Sub-Index: It has two pillars capture the results of innovative activity in the economy. They are Knowledge and Technology Outputs and Creative Outputs.
  • These both have equally weighted.
  • Overall GII score: It is the simple average of the Input and Output Sub-Indices, from which the GII economy rankings are derived.