Pakistan has improved its standing in the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2026, climbing four places to 95th among 139 economies and reclaiming its status as an innovation “overperformer,” according to the latest report published by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
The country moved up from 99th position in 2025, marking the fourth time it has been recognized as an overperformer — a designation reserved for economies that deliver stronger innovation results than expected for their level of economic development. Pakistan previously held the status in 2022 and 2024.
Innovation outputs drive the gain
The improvement was powered by Pakistan’s innovation outputs, which ranked 72nd globally, well ahead of its 121st position on innovation inputs. Both rankings were higher than the previous year.
“Innovation overperformance shows that innovation does not follow a straight line from income to results,” the report said, noting that economies can generate more innovation than expected by building on focused strengths.
WIPO identified Pakistan’s strengths in the digital economy, citing mobile app creation, ICT services exports, high-tech imports, and software spending as notable bright spots. The report also pointed to the country’s relatively strong scientific production and university quality as factors underpinning its developing digital economy.
Pakistan ranked 15th among 36 lower-middle-income economies and eighth among 11 economies in Central and Southern Asia. However, it did not feature among the leading countries in any individual innovation pillar, including human capital and research, or infrastructure.
A fluctuating seven-year record
Pakistan’s GII ranking has seesawed over the past seven years. The country placed 107th in 2020, 99th in 2021, 87th in 2022, 88th in 2023, 91st in 2024, and 99th in 2025 before rebounding to 95th in 2026.
Globally, Switzerland, Sweden, and the United States retained the top three spots, with Switzerland ranked first for the 16th consecutive year. WIPO said rankings at the top remained largely stable, with no new economy entering the top 15 since 2025. Europe accounted for 14 of the 25 leading innovation economies, while the Netherlands moved up to seventh and Austria climbed to 18th.
Five Asian economies ranked among the top 25: South Korea and Singapore placed fourth and fifth, China held 10th, Japan ranked 12th, and Hong Kong, China, placed 14th. WIPO described the presence of Asian economies among the leading innovators as an established feature of the rankings.
Global innovation momentum slows
WIPO’s 2026 Innovation Tracker pointed to continued but slower progress across the innovation cycle. Most indicators advanced — with gains in scientific output, corporate research and development, battery costs, and technology adoption — but around three-quarters remained below their decade-long averages. Global research and development intensity stayed near a historic high of 2 percent of GDP.
The report also flagged a tougher near-term economic environment. Global growth of around 3.4 percent in 2025 is expected to slow to approximately 3 percent in 2026, weighed down by higher energy prices and uncertainty, before recovering modestly in 2027.
Artificial intelligence-related investment remains a key source of potential growth, with major technology companies expected to spend more than $1 trillion on AI infrastructure across 2025 and 2026. However, WIPO cautioned that a downward revision in expected AI returns could tighten financing conditions beyond the technology sector, as investment increasingly relies on debt and private credit.
The report said emerging economies, including Pakistan, could improve their overall innovation performance by building on their existing strengths.
