Welcome to the 17th edition of WIPO’s flagship Global Innovation Index (GII), our guide to the innovative performance of 133 countries, as well as the world’s top 100 science and technology clusters. This year’s special theme, Unlocking the Promise of Social Entrepreneurship, explores the link between innovation and social enterprises, and the impact this delivers for our world.
Looking at the global landscape in 2023, we find cloudy skies and gloomy weather. Following boom years between 2020 and 2022, R&D expenditures decelerated, the number of scientific publications fell, and venture capital investments returned to pre-pandemic levels, including in Africa and Latin America. If tighter financial conditions persist, this will hinder needed innovation investments in the near term.
Amidst these gray clouds and headwinds, we can see some rays of light. New innovation in Digital and Deep Science – highlighted in GII 2022 – continue to power progress, with significant developments in areas like genome sequencing, computer power, and electric batteries.
There are also improvements in what we term the socio-economic impact of innovation, with positive trends in key indicators, including a decline in global poverty and rises in labor productivity and life expectancy.In terms of rankings, we see that the top spots have remained quite stable. I think this reflects the fact that innovation ecosystems take time to build and those that already have strong foundations in place are reaping the benefits.
But we are seeing a continued trend of strong progress from emerging economies. Indonesia, Mauritius, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Brazil have climbed the most in the GII over the past five years, with China, India, Iran, Morocco, the Philippines and Türkiye the highest risers over the past 10 years. A further 19 economies, primarily in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, are outperforming their development levels in innovation.
While these trends are promising, many of these innovation ecosystems still require careful nurturing. WIPO will continue to support countries at all stages of development to seize opportunities for entrepreneurship and innovation-driven growth.
The GII tends to be centered around innovation for economic growth and development. We have broadened our scope this year and chosen the theme of social innovation. Estimates suggest there are up to 11 million social enterprises and 30 million social entrepreneurs globally, contributing around USD 2 trillion to global GDP. Often these organizations are at the forefront of addressing critical issues like poverty, environmental sustainability, and social injustice.
Despite their undeniable impact, social enterprises have often been on the margins of traditional innovation models and policies. This 2024 GII edition brings the topic to center stage, highlighting the state of social entrepreneurship globally and offering policy recommendations to unlock the sector's innovation potential.
We hope that these insights, alongside the GII’s wealth of data and analysis, serve as a powerful tool for pro-innovation policymaking globally and the continued development of strong, dynamic innovation ecosystems in all parts of the world.
Daren Tang
Director General
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)