Innovation at a Crossroads: Highlights from the Global Launch of the GII 2025

Published on September 16, the Global Innovation Index 2025 ranks the innovation performance of nearly 140 countries and economies. Themed “Innovation at a Crossroads: Charting the Future,” this year’s edition takes the pulse of innovation against a background of global realignments, sluggish economic growth of the leading multinationals, but also technological breakthroughs, and evolving regulatory landscapes which shape how ideas emerge, spread, and scale globally.
Held at WIPO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the launch brought together heads of state, policymakers, business leaders, and academics to reflect on the state of innovation worldwide. Below are the key  findings, and insights from the event.
Innovation as a Necessity
WIPO Director General Daren Tang opened the launch by highlighting both the promise and the challenges of today’s innovation landscape. While artificial intelligence, green energy, and digital biology are accelerating rapidly, global R&D growth has slowed, venture capital has become more concentrated, and many countries still struggle to commercialize research into real-world impact.
Tang emphasized that the GII is not just a scoreboard of rankings but a policy tool and a way for governments, industry, and researchers to identify strengths and weaknesses in their innovation ecosystems and chart a path forward. Heads of state from Namibia, Panama, Uzbekistan, and Belgium also addressed the audience. 
Key Findings of the GII 2025

  • Top 5 economies include Switzerland, Sweden, the United States, Republic of Korea, and Singapore, in line with trends from previous editions
  • China enters the top 10 for the first time, reflecting its growing role as a global innovation powerhouse
  • Emerging economies, including India, Turkey, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Morocco show sustained advancement and continue to rise 
  • A number of middle and low-income economies continue to perform above expectations relative to level of development. These include Rwanda, Senegal, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, and Malawi.
  • Northern Africa and Western Asia are gaining strength, with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE climbing quickly.
  • Sub-Saharan Africa made significant progress in data collection and rankings, with Malawi and Namibia as standout performers, and dynamic start-up ecosystems in Nigeria, Kenya, and Senegal.

The Global Innovation Tracker, introduced in recent editions, showed a mixed picture:

  • Positive growth in technological progress (computing, batteries, genome sequencing)
  • Slower adoption in areas like automation and electric vehicles
  • Socioeconomic impact is improving, with global productivity growth rising to 2.4%, a promising change after years of stagnation

New Tools and Accessibility
This edition is accompanied by an upgraded Innovation Ecosystem Explorer, a digital platform where policymakers and researchers can explore data interactively by country, region, or sector. The tool allows comparisons across regions and income groups, and provides detailed insights into top universities, R&D performers, unicorns, and science and technology clusters.
With more than 90 governments now using the GII to inform policy, the report has become not just an index, but a blueprint for national and regional innovation strategies.
Voices from the Panel: Innovation at a Crossroads
The launch concluded with a high-level panel discussion featuring leaders from academia, government, and industry, each offering a distinct perspective on where innovation is heading.

 
Mr. Sun Ming-Yen (CATL, China) stressed the transformative role of battery storage in enabling renewable energy. Looking ahead, he predicted breakthroughs: “Battery energy storage is updating from a single product innovation to a systematic transformation across fields and industries.”
Ms. Gift Kadzamira (National Commission for Science and Technology, Malawi) highlighted Africa’s innovation momentum, driven by hubs, incubators, and regional integration. She emphasized financing and research–industry collaboration as keys to scale: “Governments should establish dedicated innovation funds that link public resources with donor and private sector capital.”
Prof. Gaétan de Rassenfosse (EPFL, Switzerland) pointed to three policy megatrends shaping innovation: sovereignty, policy agility, and the AI paradox. He noted: “We see AI everywhere except in the productivity statistics, because adoption takes time and requires complementary assets like skills and infrastructure.”
John Cheek (Intellectual Property Owners Association, USA) reflected on the pressures businesses face amid global uncertainty. He warned that while megatrends are driving innovation, unstable economic conditions are complicating investment choices: “I think the theme this year was great because we are truly at a crossroads. We see megatrends continuing to drive innovation as expected, but we now find ourselves in a period of perhaps less stable economic policy that’s creating challenges for innovation decisions.”
Together, the panel reinforced the idea that innovation is an ecosystem shaped by policies, finance, research institutions, and entrepreneurs, all interconnected across borders.
Looking Ahead
The GII 2025 confirms that innovation leadership is no longer static. While Switzerland remains number one for the 15th consecutive year, the rise of China, India, and other middle-income economies shows that innovation is becoming more diverse and geographically distributed.
Yet, the slowdown in R&D growth, the fragility of venture capital outside AI, and uneven technology adoption highlight the fragile balance at this crossroads.
The challenge now is clear: how to sustain innovation-led growth while ensuring that new technologies deliver productivity gains and inclusive prosperity.
 
Visit the GII website.
Download the 2025 edition of the GII.
Read official press release.
 
The Global Innovation Index (GII) is published annually by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in partnership with Portulans Institute. 
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