Global Innovation Index

What Global Innovation Index does

The Global Innovation Index (GII) is an annual publication produced by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), a specialized United Nations agency headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. First published in 2007, the GII ranks the innovation performance of close to 140 economies using a standardized dataset of 81 indicators drawn from international public and private sources, covering policy environment, education, infrastructure, and knowledge creation. It also identifies the world's top 100 science and technology clusters based on density of inventors, scientific authors, and venture-capital deals, and supports member states with a sub-national innovation measurement toolkit.

The product portfolio extends beyond the flagship annual ranking to include the GII Innovation Insights Blog (monthly deep-dive analyses), the GII Innovation Talks video series, and the GII iLens Innovation Data Lab — a pilot program that uses big data, web scraping, and spatial analytics to develop next-generation indicators on innovation finance, startups, and deep science. Data partnerships with national agencies in Brazil, China, Colombia, the EU, India, and Viet Nam underpin the sub-national toolkit and expand the geographical scope of the index.

GII operates as a public good rather than a commercial enterprise: the publication is freely accessible through the WIPO website and publications portal, with no commercial pricing model. Its end users are governments and policymakers (primary), academics and researchers, journalists, and students globally. The unit operates with a small team (1–10 employees) embedded within WIPO and is funded indirectly through WIPO's member-state contribution model.

Name

Global Innovation Index

Legal name

World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) - Global Innovation Index

Website

https://globalinnovationindex.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Global Innovation Index is a UN-backed annual publication by WIPO that ranks the innovation performance of close to 140 economies using 81 indicators, serving governments, academics, journalists, and the public as a freely accessible policy reference.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Innovation Policy Research

NAICS

Administration of Economic Programs (9261), Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (519), Administration of General Economic Programs (92611), Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (5192)

SIC

International Affairs (9721), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741), Foreign Governments (8888)

akta.pro primary industry

Economic Research, Statistics & Policy Advisory (BPADAMAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Science, Technology & Innovation Administration (National R&D Policy) (BPAIAAAK), International Economic & Trade Cooperation Organizations (BPADAAAC), Digital Policy, Data Governance & Cybersecurity Standards Cooperation (BPADANAH)

Keywords

• Innovation index
• Innovation rankings
• Innovation policy research
• Global innovation metrics
• Economic benchmarking

Headquarters

HQ city

Geneva

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Global Innovation Index is an annual publication that ranks approximately 140 economies on their innovation ecosystems using 81 indicators drawn from international public and private sources. It identifies the world's top 100 science and technology clusters, supports sub-national innovation measurement through a dedicated toolkit, and develops next-generation indicators through the GII iLens Innovation Data Lab. The publication is offered as a free public good by WIPO and is targeted at governments, policymakers, academics, journalists, and students.

Product overview

The Global Innovation Index is a unified publication product offered by WIPO that provides comprehensive annual rankings and analysis of innovation performance across approximately 140 economies worldwide. The core GII product comprises around 80 indicators spanning policy environment, education, infrastructure, and knowledge creation. It is accompanied by complementary analytical products including the Innovation Cluster Ranking (identifying top 100 global innovation clusters), the GII Innovation Insights Blog (monthly deep-dive analyses), GII Innovation Talks (video series with industry experts), and the GII iLens Innovation Data Lab (advanced analytics using big data and web scraping). Additionally, a Sub-National Level Toolkit supports governments in adapting GII methodologies to regional and provincial contexts.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Global Innovation Index (GII) Flagship annual ranking and analysis of innovation performance across approximately 140 economies worldwide, comprising around 80 indicators on policy environment, education, infrastructure, and knowledge creation. Target users include governments, policymakers, academics, journalists, and students.
• Innovation Cluster Ranking Identifies the world's top 100 geographical areas with the highest density of inventors, scientific authors, and venture capitalist deals. Published as part of the annual GII.
• Enabling Innovation Measurement at the Sub-National Level Toolkit WIPO toolkit supporting member states in constructing sub-national innovation metrics or indices, discussing which GII indicators are fit for purpose at sub-national levels and examining existing sub-national innovation indices from Brazil, China, Colombia, EU, India, and Viet Nam.
• GII iLens Innovation Data Lab Pilot analytical program using big data, web scraping, and spatial analytics to develop next-generation innovation indicators, expanding the global toolbox for measuring innovation in areas such as innovation finance, startups, and deep science.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered supporting.

• Brazil National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI)supportingOthersBrazil's INPI collaborates with WIPO on sub-national innovation measurement, with Brazil being one of the countries discussed in WIPO's toolkit on enabling innovation measurement at the sub-national level
• China National Bureau of StatisticssupportingOthersChina's National Bureau of Statistics collaborates on sub-national innovation indices and data, as referenced in WIPO's toolkit for enabling innovation measurement at the sub-national level
• Colombia National Planning Department (DNP)supportingOthersColombia's DNP provides sub-national innovation index data (IDIC) to WIPO's toolkit supporting innovation measurement at the sub-national level
• European Union (EU)supportingOthersThe EU provides sub-national innovation indices data to WIPO's toolkit on enabling innovation measurement at the sub-national level
• India NITI AayogsupportingOthersIndia's NITI Aayog contributes India Innovation Index data to WIPO's toolkit for enabling innovation measurement at the sub-national level
• Viet Nam Science and Technology Journal (VJST)supportingOthersViet Nam's VJST provides Provincial Innovation Index (PII) data to WIPO's toolkit supporting sub-national innovation measurement

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• INSEAD Global Talent Competitiveness Index (GTCI): Annual global ranking of how countries grow, attract, and retain talent, produced by INSEAD with partners like ADCO and Google. Directly comparable to GII in methodology, audience, and country-coverage model, with stronger focus on talent as an innovation input.

Broad incumbents

• OECD Innovation Indicators & STIP Compass: OECD's suite of innovation indicators and STI policy databases used by member states to benchmark R&D and innovation performance. Highly comparable in authority and audience to GII, with broader economic and policy framing.
• World Intellectual Property Indicators (WIPO): WIPO's own annual statistical report on IP filings worldwide, which underpins several GII indicators and is distributed to the same UN/member-state audience. Closely related as a sibling publication from the same parent organization.
• UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS): UN agency producing global indicators on science, technology, and innovation, particularly for education and R&D. Comparable to GII as a UN-aligned data publisher but focused on inputs (R&D, researchers) rather than composite rankings.
• Global Competitiveness Report (World Economic Forum): WEF's flagship report ranking countries on competitiveness, including innovation as a core pillar. While broader than GII, it is consumed by the same policymakers and media and serves as a parallel benchmark for national innovation strength.
• Bloomberg Innovation Index: An annual ranking of the most innovative countries produced by Bloomberg, overlapping directly with GII on country-level innovation benchmarking but using a smaller, proprietary indicator set and targeting financial / business audiences.
• World Bank Knowledge Economy / KAM Index: World Bank's Knowledge Assessment Methodology and related innovation/knowledge economy indicators used by developing-country policymakers. Overlaps with GII on benchmarking innovation capacity in emerging markets.

Emerging players

• Stanford AI Index Report: Annual study tracking global AI and innovation trends from a leading research university. Highly comparable to GII's iLens approach in using non-traditional data sources, and increasingly cited as an innovation benchmark in policy and media.
• PitchBook / Crunchbase Innovation & Venture Data: Commercial data providers tracking venture capital, startups, and innovation ecosystems — a private-sector alternative for the kind of next-generation innovation indicators that GII iLens aims to develop. Comparable to GII on agenda-setting power for innovation data.

Regional players

• European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS): European Commission's annual comparative assessment of research and innovation performance across EU member states and selected global peers. Uses a framework overlapping with GII's indicators but is focused on the European policy context.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/playlist?list=PLsm_LOEppJay6Ri7OGulSvLaGWWbpjqyK
• Xx.com/GI_Index
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/globalinnovationindex

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Global Innovation Index