Global Innovation Tracker

Global Innovation Tracker Dashboard

Notes: See the Data notes at the end of this section for a definition of the indicators and their data sources. Long-term annual growth refers to the compound annual growth rate(CAGR) over the indicated period. Historic data may have been updated and might differ from last year’s Global Innovation Tracker. Figures are rounded. Estimates or incomplete data are indicated by an asterisk (*). n.a. indicates not available. Short-term rates for Moore's Law and the Cost of genome sequencing refer to the CAGR between 2021 and 2023.

What is the current state of global innovation? Is innovation accelerating or slowing down? How is innovation coping in the face of higher interest rates and geopolitical conflicts?

The Global Innovation Tracker 2024 addresses these crucial questions. It takes the pulse of four key stages in the innovation cycle: (1) science and innovation investment; (2) technological progress; (3) technology adoption; and (4) the socioeconomic impact of innovation. The main findings are as follows:

1. Science and innovation investment: Following a boom between 2020 and 2022, investment in science and innovation experienced a significant downturn in 2023, marking a notable reversal from previous years. Venture capital and scientific publications declined sharply back to pre-pandemic levels, the impact being most pronounced in emerging regions such as Latin America and Africa. Corporate R&D spending also slowed, mirroring stagnant revenue growth and resembling the post-2009 crisis deceleration. Despite high R&D levels and stable intensities, international patenting has decreased. Looking forward, while some central banks have started cut interest rates, the tighter conditions for innovation finance, might continue to weigh negatively on innovation investments in the near term. The outlook for 2024 and 2025 is unusually uncertain.

2. Technological progress: Technological advancements remained strong in 2023, particularly in health-related fields such as genome sequencing, as well as computing power and electric batteries. However, progress in green technologies lagged behind average growth for the decade, highlighting the difficulty in reducing the energy consumed by supercomputers and a slower than previously common declines in renewable energy prices’.

3. Technology adoption: The adoption of technology saw positive growth across all indicators in 2023, especially in 5G, robotics, and electric vehicles. While overall penetration levels increased compared to a decade earlier, there are exceptions, such as the slower penetration rate of cancer radiotherapy equipment. The adoption of safe sanitation has also slowed significantly.

4. Socioeconomic impact: Many socioeconomic indicators have returned to positive growth, representing a return to normalcy post-COVID-19. However, several metrics, such as poverty rates and life expectancy, have not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels. Productivity has increased but still lags, in terms of overcoming the structural slowdown identified in the Special theme of the GII 2022 – the effective deployment of a new Digital Age and a Deep Science innovation wave is still work in progress, it would seem. Environmental impact indicators, including carbon emissions and global temperatures, continue to rise, underscoring the need for further action to combat climate change. Technological innovation plays a crucial role in addressing environmental challenges; yet, it is clear that technology is only one part of the solution.

Science and innovation investment

Innovation investment remained resilient throughout the 2020–2021 COVID-19 period and the associated downturn. Indeed, many innovation investment variables – including scientific publications, R&D and venture capital – boomed. However, the first signs of weakness in innovation investment appeared in 2022, although returning from a historic high. This slowdown intensified in 2023, making the outlook for 2024 and 2025 uncertain.

Scientific publications

The scientific landscape experienced a significant shift, a 5 percent decrease in publications between 2022 and 2023 deviating from the decade-long average increase of around 4 percent.

However, this represents nothing other than a return to the pre-pandemic growth trend (Figure 1). Indeed, the period between 2019 and 2021, just prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic, witnessed an acceleration in new publications, with exceptional growth in 2020 (8.7 percent) and 2021 (8.4 percent). This period was followed by a deceleration in 2022 (3.4 percent), linked to a decrease in research output in environmental sciences and COVID-19-related fields. Yet, despite this decline, the number of publications in 2023 remained above the 2013–2019 trend.

Research and development (R&D)

Total R&D expenditure

The most recently available data show that global R&D investment growth in 2022 slowed to 5 percent (in real terms). This is down from 6.6 percent in 2021, ⁽¹⁾Estimates of growth in 2021 were also revised up to 6.6 percent, compared to 5.2 percent reported in the GII 2023, as several economies subsequently reported more complete and up-to-date estimates. and slightly below the pre-pandemic growth rate of 6.2 percent in 2019. The growth of business R&D expenditure – the most significant component of total global R&D, representing 70 percent of total global R&D – likewise slowed to 6 percent in 2022 (compared to 8.5 percent growth in 2021), yet is still comparable to the pre-pandemic rate of 6.6 percent in 2019 (Figure 2). ⁽²⁾The top 5 economies in R&D spending all saw growth in 2022, though it was slower than in 2021 for most, except for Japan and the Republic of Korea. The United States spent 4.9 percent (down from 7.7 percent), China 7.7 percent (down from 9.6 percent), Japan 4.9 percent (up from 2.9 percent), Germany 1.9 percent (down from 3 percent), and the Republic of Korea 8.9 percent (up from 6.8 percent).

Estimates for 2023, based on projected GDP growth, paint a potentially unhappier scenario, with global R&D growth expected to slow again to less than 3 percent in 2023, and business R&D to 2.8 percent (1.7 percent and 1.4 percent, respectively, excluding the United States and China). ⁽³⁾The OECD has found similar slowdown scenarios for 2023 for the OECD area (OECD, 2024). If estimates prove correct, these would be the lowest growth rates on record since 2010. Moreover, this would mean that the growth rate for business R&D growth would be at the same level as the growth rate for total gross domestic R&D expenditure (business plus private); a situation that has been observed before, but never at such comparatively low rates (see Figure 2).

Top corporate R&D spenders

On the corporate side, 2023–2024 R&D data is available for around 1,700 of the top 2,500 biggest corporate R&D spenders globally (Nindl et al., 2023Nindl, E. et al. (2023). The 2023 EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union. doi:10.2760/506189, JRC135576. Available at: https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC135576). ⁽⁴⁾It is important to acknowledge that the data presented focuses on top R&D performers, often referred to as “R&D superfirms.” A comprehensive evaluation of corporate R&D performance for 2023 would require additional data, including information from small and medium-sized enterprises that may have found obtaining innovation finance challenging in an environment where R&D is becoming both costlier and riskier. In 2023, corporate R&D expenditure stood at around USD 1.2 trillion, up by around 8.3 percent in nominal terms and around 6.1 percent in real terms ⁽⁵⁾Converting the R&D figures to constant 2015 PPP prices helps to isolate the changes in R&D spending by eliminating the effects of price fluctuations and exchange rate variations, assuming all other conditions remain constant. Setting the PPP constant to a specific year, such as 2015, indicates the amount of R&D that one could purchase for 1 USD in the US in 2015. – these figures, derived from the weighted averages of national growth rates, represent a decline from the 2022 real growth of 7.5 percent and a decline form the long-term real growth rate.

Compared to the pre-pandemic 2019 and pandemic period, there has been up to a halving of real top corporate R&D growth in 2020 and 2021 (see Table 1).

Interestingly, however, R&D intensity – that is, R&D expenditure as a percentage of total revenue of the top corporate R&D spenders, has remained constant.

In terms of unweighted nominal growth (Figure 3), the ICT hardware and electrical equipment, and the software and ICT services sector, saw their growth rates divided by two between 2022 and 2023. In contrast, the pharmaceutical sector experienced a significant rebound in R&D expenditure, with growth increasing more than threefold, from 3 percent in 2022 to 10 percent in 2023. In 2023, the pharmaceutical sector led in R&D intensity at 19 percent, followed by Software and ICT services with 14 percent.

Figure 4 shows the nominal percentage change in R&D expenditure for 2023 among the top 15 firms in the top seven industries. In 2023, most of the top 15 R&D spenders across various industries increased investment, continuing a positive trend. However, 25 firms did the opposite and reduced investment.

Notably, four of the top R&D investors in ICT hardware reduced expenditure, in contrast to the year before, when all ICT top R&D investors increased R&D expenditure. In software, two firms decreased spending, while in pharmaceuticals, four firms did so. A few highlights:

• In the ICT hardware sector, a slowdown was evident, with Nvidia’s R&D growth rate decelerating from around 35 percent in 2022 to 18 percent in 2023.

• Meta's and Uber's R&D – which jointly recorded the highest growth rate last year at 30 percent – fell substantially to around 10 and 13 percentage points, respectively.

• In contrast, the pharmaceuticals sector experienced an accelerated growth, with Eli Lilly, Novartis, and Merck US all recording an R&D growth rate exceeding 20 percent.

• The automotive industry reported a substantial rise in R&D expenditure, particularly by Tesla (by around 30 percent).

Venture capital

After experiencing extraordinary growth in 2021, with a 47 percent increase in the number of deals and a 127 percent increase in deal value reminiscent of the pre-dotcom bubble era, the venture capital (VC) landscape faced significant challenges in 2022. Tighter monetary conditions led to a sharp reduction in VC fund inflows, with a 36 percent drop in deal value, even though the number of deals competed continued to rise by 22 percent.

This trend continued into 2023. The number of VC deals fell by around 10 percent (see Dashboard), while the total amount of money invested in VC dropped further, by around 40 percent (Figure 5).

In 2023, Africa experienced the steepest decline in VC deals seen at the regional level, dropping by around 25 percent from 471 to 349. Africa was followed by the Asia-Pacific region, which saw an almost 20 percent decrease, from approximately 9,600 deals down to 7,700. Northern America, although still leading with around 9,000 deals, experienced a 7 percent decline from the 9,600 recorded in 2022. Latin America also saw a decrease, with deals falling by 7 percent, from 539 to 500. Interestingly, Europe bucked the trend, with the number of deals increasing by 7 percent, reaching a historic record of approximately 5,400 deals.

The total amount invested in VC dropped significantly, from USD 595 billion in 2021 to USD 379 billion in 2022, and dropped further to USD 228 billion in 2023. This decline is reminiscent of the financial crisis of 2009. Tighter monetary policy is driver behind this slowdown.

The Latin America region experienced the steepest decline in VC value, plummeting by 67 percent. This was followed by Northern America, with a 40 percent decrease, Europe at 38 percent, Asia-Pacific at 38 percent, and Africa with the smallest decline at 30 percent. Despite a steep fall in the number of deals, Africa’s VC values remained relatively robust in 2023.

A long-term perspective reveals significant structural changes within the geographical distribution of VC investment (Figure 6). In 1997, the United States and Canada concentrated 86 percent of VC values, while the Asia-Pacific region attracted only 3 percent. A quarter of a century later, in 2023, the Asia-Pacific region share had increased by 25 percentage points, while that of the United States and Canada had declined by 35 points. Meanwhile, in Latin America, the share has remained stagnant at 1 percent, whereas Africa’s share has grown from zero in 1997 to 0.8 percent in 2023.

International patent filings

In 2023, international patent filings under the WIPO-administered Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) fell by almost 2 percent. This marked the first decline since the financial crisis in 2009, which saw a more significant drop of almost 5 percent. ⁽⁶⁾For assessments of how IP filings fared during this and previous crises see, WIPO, 2010; WIPO, 2023; and Fink et al., 2022. The growth of patent filings has progressively slowed since 2011 (Figure 7).

Despite a minimal reduction in number, China maintained its position as the leading origin of PCT patent filings, in 2023. The United States and Japan followed, even though they experienced a steeper decline of 5.3 percent and 2.9 percent, respectively. In contrast, India and Türkiye showed substantial growth in PCT filings. India’s PCT applications surged by an impressive 44.6 percent, while Türkiye also experienced a significant increase of 8.5 percent.

Technological progress

Indicators capturing technological progress have exhibited mostly positive and sometimes strongly positive performance. The rapid improvement in computing power consistent with Moore’s Law continues to profoundly shape our world. This is complemented by a swift increase in the availability of drugs, indicating significant progress in health and a consistent reduction in genome sequencing costs, which is critical for advancing medical research.

However, indicators relating to progress in green technologies and the environment showed sub-par progress, as compared to average decade-long growth. Specifically, the speed of making progress in making supercomputers more energy-efficient and renewable energy more affordable is falling behind.

Computing power

The GII Global Innovation Tracker employs two metrics to monitor the balance between technological progress and sustainability: namely, Moore’s Law (a reliable indicator for tracking advancements in computing power) and supercomputer efficiency, which provides a pathway for tracing progress in computing sustainability. Together, these two metrics offer a comprehensive perspective on ongoing efforts at integrating computational advancement with environmental sustainability.

Moore’s Law

Moore’s Law, the empirical observation that the number of transistors on an integrated circuit doubles approximately every two years, continues to hold true. Between 2021 and 2023, the transistor count increased by more than 150 percent, implying a compound annual growth rate of 60 percent. This rate surpasses the long-run rate of around 40 percent annual growth observed over the past decade.

Still, the miniaturization of transistors is becoming increasingly complex, pushing the boundaries of science and technology. As of now, we have achieved 8-nanometer transistors. The anticipated end of Moore’s Law is around 1.5nm to 1nm, at which point the fundamental laws of physics begin to constrict transistor packing.

Green supercomputing

Supercomputers, once confined to scientific research in fields such as climate prediction, genomics and drug discovery, are rapidly permeating the world of business, particularly with respect to the training of AI neural networks. The fastest supercomputers can execute more than 1 quintillion operations per second, also referred to as an exaflop, a computational capacity equivalent to that of 100,000 laptops.

Despite undergoing an exponential increase in speed over time, these computing systems are notoriously greedy consumers of energy (Figure 8). Efficiency, rather than simply operations per second, is becoming a critical metric for these machines.

The GII Tracker assesses performance based on how many Gigaflops are achieved per Watt of energy consumed. Between 2022 and 2023, the average efficiency of the top 50 “greenest” supercomputers increased by around 14 percent, well below the decade’s compound annual growth rate of 30 percent.

Costs of renewable energy

Between 2021 and 2022, the global weighted-average levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) from newly commissioned solar photovoltaic (PV) and wind power witnessed a reduction of 3.9 percent and 3.5 percent, respectively. Yet, this rate of reduction is substantially lower than the past decade’s compound annual rate of 15 percent for solar and 9 percent for wind.

In 2010, the global weighted-average cost of onshore wind was 95 percent higher than the lowest cost of fossil fuel-fired power. However, by 2022, it was 52 percent lower than the cheapest fossil fuel-fired solutions. Similarly, solar PV, which was 710 percent more expensive than the cheapest fossil fuel-fired solution in 2010, became 29 percent less expensive by 2022, marking a remarkable reduction in cost (IRENA, 2023International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) (2023). Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2022. Abu Dhabi: IRENA. Available at: https://mc-cd8320d4-36a1-40ac-83cc-3389-cdn-endpoint.azureedge.net/-/media/Files/IRENA/Agency/Publication/2023/Aug/IRENA_Renewable_power_generation_costs_in_2022.pdf?rev=cccb713bf8294cc5bec3f870e1fa15c2).

Despite these positive trends, the renewable energy sector faces emerging challenges. The escalating demand for natural resources and manufactured materials, coupled with a reduction in fossil fuel prices from their 2022 peak, could potentially make renewable energy sources less competitive relative to fossil fuels.

Electric battery price

Technological progress has persistently driven down the cost of lithium-ion batteries for over a decade, making electric vehicles (EVs) increasingly affordable. However, 2022 marked a key turnaround, with a first-ever increase in the price of electric batteries following upon an increase in production costs.

This price reversal ended again in 2023, with lithium-ion battery prices hitting an unprecedented low of USD 139 per kWh, marking a substantial 13.7 percent reduction from the 7 percent increase seen in 2022 (Figure 9). However, the 2023 price reduction is at a lower rate than the long-term price reduction observed over the past decade.

The 2023 price reduction reflects falling raw material and component prices, increased production capacity across the battery value chain and weaker-than-expected demand growth. The industry is also shifting toward new lithium iron phosphate cells, which are significantly cheaper than previous technologies.

Cost of genome sequencing

DNA sequencing plays a crucial role in the understanding of the human genome, and has numerous potential applications in health care, including the rapid diagnosis of complex diseases.

The cost of sequencing an entire genome has fallen dramatically over time. Based on estimates valid for the United States, it has fallen from approximately USD 100 million in 2001 to just over USD 500 in 2023. This rapid reduction in cost, driven by advancements in next-generation DNA sequencing methods, has far outpaced the expected rate of progress predicated on Moore’s Law.

Between 2021 and 2023, there was an annualized reduction of 8 percent in the cost of genome sequencing, falling below the long-term trend of a –20 percent CAGR. ⁽⁷⁾This slowdown can be partially attributed to the cessation of funding for the large-scale sequencing program funded by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) and a new cost estimation method, which incorporates additional analysis costs and averages costs across a smaller number of research centers. The earlier cost estimation method represented genome sequencing done by the research center for their own research projects. The newer methods represent costs from those centers but made available to external customers.

Looking ahead, new metrics will be required in order to assess the cost of more advanced DNA sequencing techniques. Emerging long-read DNA sequencing technologies allow for the more accurate identification of complex structural variations. But they are more costly and necessitate different metrics in order to track progress. ⁽⁸⁾Short-read technologies can assess differences in a person’s genome that possibly affect risk of disease. In contrast, long-read DNA sequencing produces data that can inform more accurately how the overall structure of the genome affects biology. Currently, long-read sequencing, costing around USD 3,000, mainly benefits research, but it may eventually be used in health care.

Drug approvals

In this edition of the Tracker, we assess the state of innovation in pharmaceuticals by examining the number of novel active substances (NASs) launched globally. A NAS is defined as a new molecular or biologic entity or combination where at least one element is new (IQVIA, 2024).

In 2023, a total of 69 NASs were introduced globally, marking a significant 9.5 percent increase on the 63 launched in 2022. This figure surpasses the average annual growth rate of 3.7 percent observed over the decade. Still, this is lower than during 2020 and 2021, when the number of drugs introduced surged due to the COVID-19 pandemic before returning to the pre-pandemic trend. In contrast to this year’s use of IQVIA data, last year’s Global Innovation Tracker relied on Food and Drug Administration (FDA) data for the monitoring of drug approvals. FDA data confirms the positive trend in 2023, with a notable rise of 49 percent in drug approvals after a steep decline in 2022.

Figure 10 shows annual NAS launches between 2013 and 2023 disaggregated by therapeutic area. Around 30 percent of the drugs introduced relate to oncology, 11 percent to neurology and around 10 percent to infectious diseases, together accounting for half of total launches during the period.

Technology adoption

In 2023, technology adoption was positive across all the indicators considered. Growth was evident in areas such as robotics and EVs. Connectivity is also expanding rapidly with the rise of 5G networks, promising faster data transmission speeds and a more reliable service. However, despite long-term growth in safe sanitation, the pace of expansion is currently insufficient to meet the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of universal coverage by 2030. There has been a decline of countries meeting the minimum cancer equipment needs too. The growth rate for the adoption of safe sanitation has also significantly slowed.

Safe sanitation

Safe sanitation, that is, the use of improved sanitation facilities, increased by 1.4 percent between 2021 and 2022, representing 57 per 100 inhabitants. This rate of growth is below the decade’s average annual increase of 2.4 percent from 2012 to 2022. A decade ago, under half of the world’s population (45 percent) had access to safe sanitation. This implies that approximately 1.3 billion people have gained access to safe sanitation since 2012.

The most significant progress in safe sanitation access since 2012 has been observed in Central and Southern Asia (+6.6 percent), particularly in India, and East and South East Asia (+4.6 percent), with China leading the way.

However, current rates of international adoption indicate that only 65 percent of the world’s population will have access to safe sanitation by 2030. This falls short by 35 points of the Sustainable Development Goal of universal coverage (UNICEF and WHO, 2023UNICEF and WHO (United Nations Children’s Fund and World Health Organization) (2023). Progress on Household Drinking Water, Sanitation and Hygiene 2000–2022: Special Focus on Gender. Available at: https://washdata.org/reports/jmp-2023-wash-households).

Connectivity

This year the Global Innovation Tracker includes for the first time data on the proportion of the world’s population covered by 5G networks. This is part of the GII’s effort to monitor the spread of cutting-edge communication technologies. In 2023, 5G coverage extended to approximately 38 percent of the global population; a notable achievement considering commercial deployment only began in 2019. This represents a close to 25 percent increase on the coverage in 2022 and an annual compound growth rate of 45 percent since 2021. Furthermore, today, 95 percent of the world’s population is covered by at least a 3G network (Figure 11). ⁽⁹⁾Since 2G does not support internet access, we consider 3G coverage.

Coverage varies according to region. Europe leads in 5G deployment, with 68 percent of the population covered, followed by the Americas at 59 percent and the Asia-Pacific region at 42 percent. The Arab States have 12 percent coverage, while the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region and Africa have 8 percent and 6 percent coverage, respectively (ITU, 2023).

The fixed broadband subscription rate rose to around 19 per 100 inhabitants, in 2023, a 4 percent increase on the previous year. This is, however, below the compound annual growth rate of 7 percent over the past decade. Europe leads with 36 per 100 inhabitants, followed by the Americas at 26, the CIS region at 23, Asia-Pacific at 19, the Arab States at 11. Africa has the lowest coverage of all at just 0.8 per 100 inhabitants.

Robots and automatization 

In 2022, the operational stock of robots increased significantly by 12 percent, mirroring the compound growth rate over the past decade. Growth occurred despite supply chain disruptions, with robot adoption reaching new heights. Over 550,000 new installations were recorded, marking a 5 percent increase on the previous record set in 2021. The electronics industry emerged as the leading consumer of robots in 2022, accounting for 28 percent of all new installations. The automotive industry closely followed, with a 25 percent share of new installations (Müller, 2023Müller, C. (2023). World Robotics 2023 – Industrial Robots. Frankfurt am Main: IFR Statistical Department, VDMA Services GmbH).

Geographically, the industrial robot market was dominated by five countries: China, Japan, the United States, the Republic of Korea and Germany. Together, these five countries accounted for 74 percent of the operational stock of robots in 2022.

Over time, there has been a noticeable shift in robot adoption. Japan, the United States and Germany have seen a decrease in their share, whereas China’s share has increased significantly.

Electric vehicles

The global EV market experienced substantial growth in 2022. The stock of EVs increased by 54 percent that year, slightly below the 10-year average growth rate of 59 percent. The share of EVs rose to 3 percent, in 2022, up from 2 percent in 2021 and a mere 0.07 percent a decade ago (IEA, 2024International Energy Agency (IEA) (2024). Global EV Outlook 2024. Paris: IEA. Available at: www.iea.org/reports/global-ev-outlook-2024).

Electric vehicles accounted for 18 percent of global car sales in 2022. The market was dominated by China, Europe and the United States, which together constituted around 95 percent of total EV sales.

Emerging markets and developing economies outside China constituted only a small proportion of the global market. Affordability remains a significant barrier, particularly in low- and lower middle-income economies. Challenges such as limited access to charging infrastructure and EV servicing further impede adoption not only in these economies but also in high-income regions, too.

Nonetheless, 2022 saw a significant surge in electromobility within India, Thailand and Indonesia. Electric car sales in these countries tripled compared to 2021, largely driven by Tata’s dominance within the Indian market and government incentives aimed at bolstering EV manufacturing.

Cancer radiotherapy

To better capture the adoption of health-related innovations, the Global Innovation Tracker provides information on the availability of cancer therapy equipment, specifically the number of linear accelerators (LINACs) – devices for delivering high-energy x-rays or electrons to cancers for therapeutic or palliative purposes – per inhabitant.

Data for 2023 shows an around 3 percent rise in the availability of LINACs per capita compared to the previous year, exceeding the average annual global increase in LINAC availability of 1.6 percent over the past decade.

In 2023, 21 out of 100 countries met the minimum radiotherapy requirements set out by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) DIrectory of RAdiotherapy Centres (DIRAC) (see Data note). Among upper middle-income economies, there has been a notable increase in the percentage of countries meeting radiotherapy requirements. However, the number of lower middle- and low-income economies meeting radiotherapy technology minimum requirements remains low, indicating a persistent divide in access to adequate radiotherapy services.

Socioeconomic impact

In terms of the socioeconomic impact of innovation, many indicators have returned to some growth relative to the results of last year’s 2023 edition of the GII. Labor productivity has seen an increase, albeit at a rate below the average for the past decade, with levels slightly above those of 2021. Significant long-term progress has been made in reducing poverty, with the number of people in extreme poverty in 2022 being half of what it was in 2005. However, levels remain above those recorded in 2018, and thus pre-pandemic levels, indicating that more effort is needed if progress is to be sustained or even accelerated.

Life expectancy saw a rapid rise in 2022, but remains at levels last seen in 2015. Also, the disparity between healthy life expectancy and total life expectancy is still to be addressed. On environmental issues, the world is falling further behind. After a temporary reduction in 2020, carbon emissions are growing once. The year 2023 was the hottest on record, highlighting an urgent need for effective climate action.

Labor productivity

Labor productivity showed an increase of around 1 percent between 2022 and 2023, an improvement from the sluggish growth of around 0.2 percent observed between 2021 and 2022. In terms of output per worker, there has been a notable increase, from around USD 43,000 in 2012 to USD 51,000 in 2023.

Despite this positive trend, the current growth rate still lags behind the decade average of 2.2 percent productivity growth; a trend further discussed in the context of two possibly new Digital Age and deep Science Innovation waves in the GII 2022 special theme What is the future of innovation-driven growth?

Poverty

This year, the Global Innovation Tracker incorporates data on poverty. In 2022, approximately 712 million people were living in extreme poverty, defined as subsisting on less than USD 2.15 a day (2017 PPP) – a 5 percent decrease on the previous year. Comparatively, in 2012, the number of people living in poverty was 936 million, representing a reduction of over 200 million individuals over the decade (Figure 12).

Since the 2000s, the share of the global population living below the lower middle-income (USD 3.65) and the upper middle-income (USD 6.85) poverty line also shrank. Currently, nearly 2 billion people live on under USD 3.65 a day, and more than 3.5 billion people (around half of the world’s population) live below the USD 6.85 threshold. Despite the 2022 improvement, poverty is still greater today than it was before the pandemic struck.

Life expectancy

Globally, average life expectancy at birth is now around 20 years longer than it was back in 1960, when it stood at 51 years. However, COVID-19 caused a marked decline in life expectancy, and recovery has been gradual.

Following two consecutive periods of unprecedented decline – a 1 percent decrease between 2019 and 2020, and a further 1.3 percent decrease between 2020 and 2021 – life expectancy rose by around 1 percent in 2022. As of 2022, the life expectancy of a representative individual is 72 years, the same as in 2015. A decade earlier, in 2012, life expectancy was slightly lower, at 71 years (Figure 13).

Despite improvements, significant disparities in life expectancy persist. There remains a striking gap of approximately 30 years between the highest and lowest life expectancies. For instance, in Japan, life expectancy is slightly below 84 years, whereas in some other countries it is around 55 years. This gap has narrowed over time since 1960, when it was 45 years. Additionally, a notable disparity exists between life expectancy at birth and healthy life expectancy at birth (HALE). This gap has remained fairly constant since the start of the millennium, at around 9.5 years.

Global warming

In an effort to understand both the impact of economic activity on the climate and the potential mitigation strategies through innovation, this year’s Global Innovation Tracker includes data on global warming. This approach aligns with the global commitment made in 2015 under the Paris AgreementSee https://unfccc.int/documents/184656., when countries worldwide agreed to a long-term goal of limiting the rise in global surface temperature to no more than 2°C above pre-industrial levels, with a preferred limit of 1.5°C.

Notably, 2023 marked a significant milestone in being the hottest year on record, with the global temperature 1.17°C above the baseline period (1951–1980). ⁽¹⁰⁾Temperature variations occur within the context of an overall upward trend driven by human activity, with fluctuations due to natural phenomena such as El Niño and La Niña events or volcanic eruptions. Problematically, the average temperature in 2023 was only 0.13°C below the preferred 1.5°C target and 0.63°C below the maximum 2°C target, thresholds that are quite likely to be surpassed in the coming decades (Figure 14).

Furthermore, carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions are on the rise. In 2022, CO₂emissions returned to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels, increasing by 0.9 percent compared to 2021. Fossil CO₂emissions are expected to have risen further in 2023, to 1.4 percent above 2019 levels (Figure 15).

Conclusion

The Global Innovation Tracker 2024 provides a comprehensive analysis of the current state of global innovation, revealing a complex landscape subject to economic, geopolitical and technological factors. Findings serve to highlight progress, as well as challenges across four key stages of the innovation cycle: science and innovation investment, technological progress, technology adoption, and the socioeconomic impact of innovation.

In conclusion, while global innovation has remained resilient over the past few years, it faces significant economic and geopolitical headwinds. Despite continued technological progress and growing technology adoption, achieving socioeconomic progress remains a challenge. The path forward requires sustained investment, the enhanced adoption of breakthrough technologies, and comprehensive strategies to harness innovation for socioeconomic and environmental benefit. The outlook for 2024 and 2025 remains uncertain, necessitating vigilant monitoring and adaptive strategies to navigate the evolving global landscape.

At this point, an important reminder is in order: the GII Global Innovation Tracker makes a significant effort to capture innovation investment and technological progress, adoption and impact through a limited set of indicators and to provide high-level trends via the Dashboard. While the indicators for investment impact are quite standard and comprehensive, the other indicators on technological progress, adoption and impact are more selective and experimental, and might not exhaustively capture today’s broad range of innovative activity. Nonetheless, we hope this evolving tool will trigger a sound debate on better innovation measurement and policy, which will in turn improve both the innovation metrics and the Tracker itself, as a consequence.

Data notes

Scientific publications captures the number of peer-reviewed articles published in the Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) and Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE). Source: Web of Science (Clarivate), https://apps.webofknowledge.com .

R&D investments captures R&D expenditures worldwide in PPP-adjusted constant 2015 prices. The 2022 values were calculated using available real data of gross expenditure on R&D (GERD) and business enterprise expenditure on R&D (BERD) at the country level from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) online database; the OECD’s Main Science and Technology Indicators (MSTI) database (March 2024 update); Eurostat and the Ibero-American and Inter-American Network of Science and Technology Indicators (RICYT). For those countries for which data were unavailable for 2022, the 2022 data were estimated using the last observation carried forward (LOCF) method for R&D intensities (R&D expenditures as a percentage of GDP) and applied to GDP PPP for the same year. R&D expenditures for 2023 were estimated for all countries, using the latest available R&D intensity and estimations of GDP growth at constant prices from the International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database, April 2024.

Top corporate R&D spenders’ data is sourced from the European Commission’s 2023 EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard and further analyzed using WIPO calculations and the Bureau van Dijk (BvD) Orbis database, with all figures reported in current US dollars. The choice of the US dollar as the currency was arbitrary; however, its recent appreciation affects the valuation of R&D spending in foreign currencies, potentially skewing the perceived trends in R&D expenditure across different regions. To address these fluctuations and provide a more balanced view, the approach considers the contribution of each country to global R&D, weighting it according to their share of total R&D expenditure. The PPP-adjusted constant 2015-dollar measure is utilized to calculate each country's share in a given year. The R&D figures are then aggregated using a weighted average method, where these proportional shares serve as weights to compute the annual growth rates. This method helps mitigate the impact of currency valuation changes, offering a clearer picture of actual spending trends in R&D across various regions.

Venture capital (VC) deals refers to the absolute number of VC deals received by companies located within a region. VC value refers to the total amount of current US dollars invested – via venture capital – into companies located within a region. Source: Refinitiv Eikon data on private equity and venture capital, www.refinitiv.com/en/products/eikon-trading-software/private-equity-data .

International patent filings refers to the total number of patent applications filed through the WIPO-administered Patent Cooperation Treaty. Source: WIPO IP Statistics Data Center, www.wipo.int/ipstats . See also WIPO (2024).

Microchip transistor count (Moore’s Law) refers to the number of transistors to be found on the most advanced, commercially available microchips in a given year. Source: Karl Rupp, https://github.com/karlrupp/microprocessor-trend-data .

Green supercomputersaverage efficiency of top 50 systems on the Green500 list. The Green500 ranks the most energy-efficient computer systems, by measuring computational capacity per unit of energy consumed (Gflops/Watts). Source: TOP500 (November 2023), www.top500.org/lists/green500 .

Cost of renewable energycaptures the global weighted average levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) generation of solar photovoltaics and onshore and offshore wind. Source: International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), www.irena.org/Publications/2023/Aug/Renewable-Power-Generation-Costs-in-2022 . See IEA (2023).

Electric battery price refers to the average lithium-ion battery price (in 2023 USD, including the cell, module and pack), weighted by power capacity (MWh), across all sectors. Source: BloombergNEF (BNEF), https://about.bnef.com/blog/lithium-ion-battery-pack-prices-hit-record-low-of-139-kwh .

Cost of genome sequencing refers to the cost of sequencing the DNA of one human genome (in USD). Source: National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), US National Institute of Health, Wetterstrand KA. DNA sequencing costs: Data from the NHGRI Genome Sequencing Program (GSP), www.genome.gov/sequencingcostsdata .

Drug approvals refers to the number of novel active substances (NASs). A NAS is a new molecular or biologic entity or combination, where at least one element is new. Includes NASs launched anywhere in the world by year of first global launch. Launch is determined using IQVIA audits of sales activity, as well as companies’ public statements. 

Source: IQVIA Institute for Human Data Science, Global Trends in R&D 2024: Activity, Productivity, and Enablers,  www.iqvia.com/insights/the-iqvia-institute/reports-and-publications/reports/global-trends-in-r-and-d-2024-activity-productivity-and-enablers .

Safe sanitationrefers to that portion of the population that uses an improved sanitation facility not shared with other households and where excreta are safely disposed of in situ or removed and treated off-site. Improved sanitation facilities include flush/pour toilets connected to piped sewerage systems; septic tanks or pit latrines; pit latrines with slabs; and composting toilets. Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (JMP), https://washdata.org .

Broadband penetration is equivalent to the number of fixed and (active) mobile broadband subscriptions, respectively, per 100 inhabitants. Source: International Telecommunication Union (ITU) World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators database, www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/publications/wtid.aspx .

5G coverage refers to the percentage of the population covered by 5G mobile network technology. Source: International Telecommunication Union (ITU), www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/facts .

Robots is a measure of the number of robots currently deployed in industrial automation applications (also known as the operational stock of industrial robots). The stock is calculated assuming an average service life of 12 years with immediate withdrawal from service at the end of the period. Source: International Federation of Robotics (IFR), https://ifr.org/img/worldrobotics/Executive_Summary_WR_Industrial_Robots_2023.pdf .

Electric vehicle (EV) stock is the number of passenger cars worldwide that are battery electric vehicles (BEVs) or plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). EV share is the percentage of the total passenger car stock that is electric. Source: International Energy Agency, Global EV Outlook 2024. https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics/data-tools/global-ev-data-explorer .

Cancer radiotherapy refers to the total number of linear accelerators per inhabitant. Linear accelerators (LINACs) are devices for delivering high-energy x-rays or electrons to cancers for a therapeutic purpose. A higher ratio indicates a better-equipped health care system. Penetration rate refers to the number of countries that meet minimal radiotherapy resource requirements worldwide, based on a rough assumption that one in every two cancer cases requires radiotherapy and that one machine is needed for every 500 patients requiring radiotherapy. Source: Special tabulations by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) DIrectory of RAdiotherapy Centres (DIRAC) for the GII based on IAEA DIRAC ( https://dirac.iaea.org ) and IARC GLOBOCAN ( https://gco.iarc.fr ) databases.

Labor productivity (rates) refers to the world total of output per hour worked; (levels) refers to the world total of output per employee. Both indicators were estimated by The Conference Board. Source: The Conference Board Total Economy Database™, May 2024, https://conference-board.org/data/economydatabase .

Poverty refers to that part of the population living below the poverty line of USD 2.15 a day (2017 PPP). Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform, https://pip.worldbank.org .

Life expectancy refers to the number of years a newborn infant could be expected to live, if patterns of mortality prevailing at the time of birth were to stay the same throughout its life. Source: World Development Indicators, https://databank.worldbank.org/source/world-development-indicators .

Air temperature refers to the global mean estimate temperature anomaly with respect to the base period 1951–1980 based on land and ocean data. Source: NASA GISS, https://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp .