Revealed: These Are the Most Innovative Countries in the World, 2025
According to the “World Innovation Index” published by CEOWORLD magazine, the United States ranks 7th in innovation, while China ranks 20th. The index considers factors such as patent applications, global brand value, hi-tech manufacturing, researchers per million population, corporate R&D investors, government R&D spending, university-industry R&D collaboration, knowledge-intensive employment, finance for startups, venture capital received, environmental performance, information and communication technology access, regulatory quality, and policies for doing business. The report emphasizes changes in global innovation leadership, focusing on emerging economies challenging traditional leaders.
The top performer on the index is Singapore, which has made substantial investments in research and development. Small countries can outrank larger ones because indicators are scaled according to a country’s population, GDP, and spending power. The index also considers a country’s adoption, use, and production of technology. The World Innovation Index score is correlated with a country’s GDP per person, so richer countries tend to rank higher. However, some countries, like China and India, outperform their rankings given their level of development.
Most Innovative Countries in the World, 2025
Rank | Country | Region | Score |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Singapore | Asia | 97.81 |
2 | Taiwan | Asia | 97.8 |
3 | South Korea | Asia | 97.68 |
4 | Switzerland | Europe | 97.29 |
5 | Israel | Asia | 96.99 |
6 | Netherlands | Europe | 96.62 |
7 | United States | Americas | 96.47 |
8 | Finland | Europe | 96.31 |
9 | Denmark | Europe | 96.2 |
10 | Japan | Asia | 95.48 |
11 | United Kingdom | Europe | 95.23 |
12 | France | Europe | 94.95 |
13 | Sweden | Europe | 94.6 |
14 | Estonia | Europe | 94.58 |
15 | Austria | Europe | 94.14 |
16 | Germany | Europe | 93.63 |
17 | Hong Kong (China) | Asia | 93.45 |
18 | Norway | Europe | 92.75 |
19 | Iceland | Europe | 92.61 |
20 | China | Asia | 92.38 |
21 | Australia | Oceania | 92 |
22 | Belgium | Europe | 91.49 |
23 | Ireland | Europe | 91.33 |
24 | Luxembourg | Europe | 91.2 |
25 | Spain | Europe | 90.72 |
26 | Malta | Europe | 90.45 |
27 | Czech Republic (Czechia) | Europe | 90.43 |
28 | United Arab Emirates | Asia | 90.4 |
29 | Malaysia | Asia | 90.29 |
30 | Portugal | Europe | 90.24 |
31 | Slovenia | Europe | 90.23 |
32 | Lithuania | Europe | 89.74 |
33 | New Zealand | Oceania | 89.51 |
34 | Italy | Europe | 88.43 |
35 | Cyprus | Europe | 88.03 |
36 | Canada | Americas | 87.81 |
37 | Hungary | Europe | 87.7 |
38 | India | Asia | 87.63 |
39 | Poland | Europe | 87.53 |
40 | Thailand | Asia | 86.96 |
41 | Latvia | Europe | 86.82 |
42 | Croatia | Europe | 86.81 |
43 | Greece | Europe | 86.71 |
44 | Slovakia | Europe | 86.26 |
45 | Saudi Arabia | Asia | 86.25 |
46 | Vietnam | Asia | 86.14 |
47 | Brazil | Americas | 85.93 |
48 | Chile | Americas | 85.89 |
49 | Serbia | Europe | 85.54 |
50 | Indonesia | Asia | 85.42 |
51 | Russia | Europe | 85.41 |
52 | Bulgaria | Europe | 84.91 |
53 | Turkey (Türkiye) | Asia | 84.87 |
54 | Romania | Europe | 84.05 |
55 | Qatar | Asia | 83.82 |
56 | Philippines | Asia | 83.73 |
57 | Mauritius | Africa | 83.67 |
58 | Mexico | Americas | 83.19 |
59 | Monaco | Europe | 82.98 |
60 | Macao (China) | Asia | 82.88 |
61 | Liechtenstein | Europe | 82.37 |
62 | Andorra | Europe | 82.07 |
63 | Bahamas | Americas | 81.96 |
64 | Belize | Americas | 81.91 |
65 | Antigua and Barbuda | Americas | 81.69 |
66 | Georgia | Asia | 80.59 |
67 | North Macedonia | Europe | 80.01 |
68 | Armenia | Asia | 80 |
69 | Montenegro | Europe | 79.82 |
70 | Bahrain | Asia | 79.79 |
71 | Moldova | Europe | 78.08 |
72 | Ukraine | Europe | 77.55 |
73 | Colombia | Americas | 77.06 |
74 | Uruguay | Americas | 76.18 |
75 | Mongolia | Asia | 76.12 |
76 | South Africa | Africa | 75.96 |
77 | Costa Rica | Americas | 75.91 |
78 | Kuwait | Asia | 75.65 |
79 | Jordan | Asia | 75.18 |
80 | Oman | Asia | 74.93 |
81 | Peru | Americas | 74.92 |
82 | Argentina | Americas | 74.53 |
83 | Barbados | Americas | 74.24 |
84 | Panama | Americas | 74.18 |
85 | Uzbekistan | Asia | 74.16 |
86 | Albania | Europe | 74.05 |
87 | Belarus | Europe | 73.24 |
88 | Kazakhstan | Asia | 72.7 |
89 | Jamaica | Americas | 72.62 |
90 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Europe | 72.56 |
91 | Tunisia | Africa | 72.49 |
92 | Egypt | Africa | 71.62 |
93 | Botswana | Africa | 71.59 |
94 | Brunei Darussalam | Asia | 71.47 |
95 | Sri Lanka | Asia | 71 |
96 | Cabo Verde [Cape Verde] | Africa | 70.97 |
97 | Senegal | Africa | 70.44 |
98 | Kenya | Africa | 68.64 |
99 | Dominican Republic | Africa | 68.59 |
100 | El Salvador | Americas | 68.58 |
101 | Kyrgyzstan | Asia | 68.01 |
102 | Bolivia | Americas | 67.9 |
103 | Morocco | Africa | 67.87 |
104 | Iran (Islamic Republic of) | Asia | 67.65 |
105 | Paraguay | Americas | 67.44 |
106 | Lebanon | Asia | 67.26 |
107 | Azerbaijan | Asia | 66.93 |
108 | Ghana | Africa | 66.87 |
109 | Namibia | Africa | 66.75 |
110 | Cambodia | Asia | 66.14 |
111 | Rwanda | Africa | 66.13 |
112 | Saint Kitts and Nevis | Americas | 65.91 |
113 | Samoa | Oceania | 65.86 |
114 | San Marino | Europe | 65.85 |
115 | São Tomé and Príncipe | Africa | 65.19 |
116 | Saint Lucia | Americas | 64.92 |
117 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | Americas | 64.56 |
118 | Ecuador | Americas | 64.54 |
119 | Tajikistan | Asia | 64.31 |
120 | Trinidad and Tobago | Americas | 64.2 |
121 | Madagascar | Africa | 63.07 |
122 | Laos | Asia | 62.56 |
123 | Zambia | Africa | 62.3 |
124 | Togo | Africa | 62.21 |
125 | Zimbabwe | Africa | 61.74 |
126 | Benin | Africa | 61.62 |
127 | Tanzania | Africa | 60.77 |
128 | Uganda | Africa | 60.65 |
129 | Guatemala | Americas | 60.59 |
130 | Cameroon | Africa | 60.31 |
131 | Nicaragua | Americas | 60.29 |
132 | Myanmar [Burma] | Asia | 60.12 |
133 | Burundi | Africa | 59.82 |
134 | Mozambique | Africa | 59.49 |
135 | Burkina Faso | Africa | 59.46 |
136 | Honduras | Americas | 59.45 |
137 | Algeria | Africa | 59.44 |
138 | Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire) | Africa | 59.39 |
139 | Nigeria | Africa | 59.37 |
140 | Bangladesh | Asia | 58.83 |
141 | Ethiopia | Africa | 58.78 |
142 | Mali | Africa | 58.44 |
143 | Niger | Africa | 57.62 |
144 | Angola | Africa | 57.44 |
145 | Iraq | Asia | 57.4 |
146 | Fiji | Oceania | 57.37 |
147 | Cuba | Americas | 57.04 |
148 | Bhutan | Asia | 56.92 |
149 | Afghanistan | Asia | 56.88 |
150 | Central African Republic | Africa | 56.83 |
151 | Chad | Africa | 56.66 |
152 | Comoros | Africa | 56.65 |
153 | Djibouti | Africa | 56.12 |
154 | Dominica | Americas | 56.08 |
155 | DR Congo [Democratic Republic of the Congo] | Africa | 55.95 |
156 | Equatorial Guinea | Africa | 55.85 |
157 | Eritrea | Africa | 55.78 |
158 | Eswatini [Swaziland] | Africa | 55.63 |
159 | Gabon | Africa | 55.14 |
160 | Gambia | Africa | 54.17 |
161 | Guinea | Africa | 54.05 |
162 | Guinea-Bissau | Africa | 53.96 |
163 | Guyana | Americas | 53.6 |
164 | Haiti | Americas | 53.56 |
165 | Kiribati | Oceania | 53.35 |
166 | Lesotho | Africa | 53.1 |
167 | Liberia | Africa | 52.65 |
168 | Libya | Africa | 52.52 |
169 | Malawi | Africa | 52.21 |
170 | Papua New Guinea | Oceania | 52.18 |
171 | North Korea | Asia | 52.01 |
172 | Nauru | Oceania | 51.56 |
173 | Micronesia | Oceania | 51.52 |
174 | Mauritania | Africa | 51.37 |
175 | Marshall Islands | Oceania | 51.09 |
176 | Maldives | Asia | 50.88 |
177 | Nepal | Asia | 50.65 |
178 | Palau | Oceania | 50.35 |
179 | Vanuatu | Oceania | 50.17 |
180 | Venezuela | Americas | 49.82 |
181 | Republic of the Congo | Africa | 49.62 |
182 | Seychelles | Africa | 49.18 |
183 | Sierra Leone | Africa | 48.57 |
184 | Solomon Islands | Oceania | 48.55 |
185 | Somalia | Africa | 47.93 |
186 | South Sudan | Africa | 47.75 |
187 | Pakistan | Asia | 47.35 |
188 | Sudan | Africa | 46.88 |
189 | Suriname | Americas | 46.62 |
190 | Turkmenistan | Asia | 46.39 |
191 | Tuvalu | Oceania | 45.91 |
192 | Tonga | Oceania | 45.75 |
193 | Syria | Asia | 45.42 |
194 | Palestine | Asia | 45.18 |
195 | Timor Leste (East Timor) | Asia | 45.1 |
196 | Yemen | Asia | 45.02 |
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