Tokyo (SCCIJ) – Switzerland remains the world’s most innovative economy, according to the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2026 published by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
Strong on both inputs and outputs
The ranking covers 139 economies and uses 79 indicators. They are grouped into an innovation input sub-index and an innovation output sub-index. Inputs capture the conditions that enable innovation, such as institutions, education, research funding and infrastructure. Outputs capture the results, such as patents, scientific publications and creative goods. Switzerland ranks 2nd on inputs and 1st on outputs. Its output score is about 11 points higher than its input level would predict, which shows how effectively it turns resources into results. WIPO also ranks Switzerland 1st for creative outputs and names it the leader among high-income economies. In the overall ranking, WIPO describes the top as remarkably stable in a turbulent year: no new economy entered the top 15.
Invests abroad
A new GII indicator tracks announced green-field R&D and high-tech investment projects. WIPO places Switzerland among eight “outward investment leaders”, high-income economies that invest abroad far more than they receive.
Japan holds 12th place
Japan keeps its 12th rank. WIPO attributes this to the strength of its industrial and corporate innovation. Japan ranks 1st in production and export complexity and 3rd in both patent families and business-performed R&D. Tokyo–Yokohama remains the world’s second-ranked innovation cluster. Japan and Switzerland are both among the world’s top innovation economies, and the two are among Asia’s and Europe’s strongest performers.
AI and deep science
WIPO’s press release says artificial intelligence is driving a rebound in venture capital and R&D spending. Global venture funding rose 28% to USD 510 billion in 2025. The report’s special theme counts more than 30,000 deep-science startups, worth USD 7.6 trillion together.
“Our 2026 GII report shows that a new generation of deep-science startups is translating breakthroughs into products,” said WIPO Director General Daren Tang.
SCCIJ based on press material of WIPO, Global Innovation Index 2026 (press release PR/2026/959; GII 2026 results; Switzerland country profile).
