Qatar has climbed 21 spots on the Global Innovation Index since 2020

Qatar has climbed 21 spots on the Global Innovation Index since 2020

Qatar has achieved 49th place in the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2024, climbing 21 spots since 2020. The country rose one position from 2023 among 133 countries, according to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), a United Nations body based in Geneva, Switzerland.

The GII ranks global economies by their innovation capacities, using around 80 indicators that measure both innovation inputs and outputs. It seeks to provide a comprehensive view of innovation across multiple dimensions.

In the Northern Africa and Western Asia region, Qatar ranks 6th among 18 economies and 42nd out of 51 high-income group countries.

Back in 2020, Qatar held the 70th spot on the GII, with rankings of 64th for Innovation Inputs and 72nd for Innovation Outputs. Over the past five years, it has advanced 21 positions, securing a place among the top 50 economies. Last year, Qatar ranked 50th, with Innovation Inputs at 39th and Innovation Outputs at 71st.

The 2024 Global Innovation Tracker outlines Qatar’s current innovation status, highlighting the pace of technological adoption and its societal impacts. For Qatar, six indicators have shown improvement in the short-term, while another six have declined.

The 17th edition of the Global Innovation Index, themed "Unlocking the Promise of Social Entrepreneurship," evaluates the innovative performance of 133 countries and the world’s top 100 science and technology clusters. This year’s theme examines the link between innovation and social enterprises and their global impact.

The index’s foreword, by WIPO Director General Daren Tang, noted that R&D expenditures slowed in 2023 after a surge between 2020 and 2022. The number of scientific publications declined, and venture capital investments returned to pre-pandemic levels, including in regions like Africa and Latin America. He warned that continued financial tightening could impede future innovation investments.

Despite these challenges, emerging economies like Indonesia, Mauritius, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Brazil have made significant progress in the GII over the past five years. China, India, Iran, Morocco, the Philippines, and Türkiye have also seen notable growth over the past decade, while 19 economies, mainly in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, are outperforming their development levels in innovation.

In the Northern Africa and Western Asia region, the UAE and Türkiye rank second and third, respectively.

Switzerland continues to hold the top spot in the GII for the 14th consecutive year, followed by Sweden and the United States in second and third positions. Singapore has moved up to fourth place, and the UK ranks fifth. China, the only middle-income country in the top 30, has risen to 11th, while Japan maintains its 13th place, a position it has held since 2021.