Daily News Analysis

Global Innovation Index (GII) 2026

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The Telecommunication Engineering Centre (TEC), under the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Ministry of Communications, hosted the second meeting of the UN Global Initiative on AI for Agri-Food Systems (GI-AI4FS).

About the Global Innovation Index (GII)

The Global Innovation Index (GII) ranks countries and economies according to their innovation performance and capacity. It was first launched in 2007 and has become a leading global benchmark for measuring and comparing innovation across economies.

The index is published annually by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). It is recognised by the United Nations General Assembly as an authoritative reference for Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) policies.

The GII tracks global innovation trends by examining investment patterns, technological progress, adoption rates and socioeconomic impacts.

Key Highlights of the Global Innovation Index 2026

The 19th edition of the GII assesses the innovation performance of 139 economies. It also identifies the world's top 100 innovation clusters and examines major global innovation trends.

Leading Innovative Economies: Switzerland retained the top position for the 16th consecutive year, followed by Sweden and the United States.

Other Leading Economies: The Republic of Korea ranked fourth, while Singapore secured fifth place. China ranked 10th, Japan ranked 12th, and Hong Kong, China, climbed to 14th place.

India's Performance in GII 2026

Overall Ranking: India ranked 38th out of 139 economies in the Global Innovation Index 2026.

Lower-Middle-Income Economies: India secured first place among 36 lower-middle-income economies.

Central and Southern Asia: India also ranked first among the 11 economies in the Central and Southern Asia region.


 

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