Iran Improves in Global Innovation Index but Falls in Overall Ranking

TEHRAN - The Islamic Republic of Iran has shown advancements in several key areas of the Global Innovation Index (GII) for 2024, as reported by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Iran's rankings in knowledge and technology output, and business sophistication have seen improvements, moving from 55th and 117th in 2023 to 49th and 110th respectively this year.

The country also enhanced its standings in market sophistication and infrastructure, climbing two spots each to 17th and 95th. However, there were declines in rankings related to creative output, human research, capital, and institutions.

Despite these advancements, Iran's overall position in the GII dropped from 62nd to 64th out of 133 economies. The index, which assesses the innovation capabilities of economies worldwide, continues to be led by Switzerland, securing the top spot for the 14th consecutive year, with Sweden and the U.S. following closely.

In regional performance, Iran maintained its second-place ranking among Central and Southern Asian countries, with India leading and Kazakhstan coming in third. Within the lower-middle-income group, Iran improved its standing, moving up to 5th from 6th last year.

Iran's performance in innovation outputs was notably better than its inputs, ranking 48th in outputs against 85th in inputs. The country leads in market capitalization and trademarks by origin, and ranks highly in areas like software spending, gross capital formation, and science and engineering graduates.

However, challenges persist, particularly in the categories of institutions, business sophistication, and infrastructure, where Iran ranks 133rd, 110th, and 95th respectively. Additionally, Tehran's status as a science and technology cluster has slightly declined, moving from the 35th to the 38th largest globally.

The GII report, crucial for understanding global innovation trends, provides a comprehensive view of how countries are leveraging innovation to drive economic growth and societal advancement. This year's findings suggest that while Iran is making strides in certain areas, broader systemic improvements are necessary to enhance its global innovation stature.