SINGAPORE has risen to fourth place globally in this year’s Global Innovation Index (GII), retaining its top spot in the regional South-east Asia, East Asia and Oceania (SEAO) category from last year.
This was the country’s best performance in more than a decade, since it ranked third globally in the 2012 edition of the GII.
Switzerland kept its crown for the 14th year in a row in this 17th edition of the index; Sweden and the US were second and third, respectively.
Intellectual Property Office of Singapore chief executive Rena Lee said: “We are encouraged by the steady progress in Singapore’s journey as a global innovation hub, which is the result of joint efforts over the years across government, research and business sectors to support innovation growth.”
Published annually by the World Intellectual Property Organisation, the GII is a global ranking of the world’s most innovative economies. This year, the index tracked innovation trends across 133 economies using 78 indicators, among which Singapore emerged top in 14.
This was an improvement from its 2023 performance, in which it led in 11 of 80 indicators. With pole position in 14 indicators this year, Singapore was the leading country in terms of having been ranked first the most; US and China followed, with lead positions in nine and eight indicators, respectively.
Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.
The indicators Singapore ranked first in included government effectiveness, information and communications technology access, unicorn valuations and venture capital (VC).
The GII rankings are based broadly on two components – innovation inputs and innovation outputs. Inputs comprise factors that enable innovative activity, and outputs refer to the actual results of such innovative activity.
While Singapore retained its top rank in innovation inputs, surpassing Switzerland, Sweden and the