Switzerland named the most innovative country in the world, again!

Switzerland has been named the world’s most innovative country, retaining its title for the 15th year running. The Global Innovation Index, compiled by the World Intellectual Property Organisation, compares 139 countries worldwide.

Switzerland continues to perform well as a high-income economy

While cheese and chocolate may come to mind when you think of Switzerland, the small country packs a punch when it comes to innovations that have changed the world. According to the Global Innovation Index 2025 (GII) by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), Switzerland has once again taken the top spot as the "most innovative country in the world".

The GII analysed 139 countries for their innovation capabilities, using 80 indicators such as the education system, infrastructure and economy to measure a country’s innovation. The results are then compared using seven categories: 

• Institutions (e.g. government effectiveness, rule of law, entrepreneurship policies and culture)
• Human capital and research (e.g. expenditure on education and research, pupil-to-teacher ratio, number of graduates in science and engineering) 
• Infrastructure (e.g. access to the internet, production of electricity, sustainable energy use)
• Market sophistication (e.g. finance for startups and scaleups, venture capital investments, diversification of domestic industry)
• Business sophistication (e.g. knowledge level of workers, university and industry collaborations)
• Knowledge and technology outputs (e.g. patents, high-tech manufacturing) 
• Creative outputs (cultural and creative services exports, national feature films)

Switzerland ranked in the top five for most categories, performing particularly well in creative outputs, and worst in human capital and research, where it ranked sixth. 

The alpine nation also came out top among the 54 high-income economies, followed by Sweden and the US. These countries were credited for their strong research and development, “world-class” institutions, education system and “a strongly innovative” private sector, according to the report.

Middle-income economies on the rise

The broader analysis showed that research and development growth “has declined to its slowest pace since the global financial crisis”, according to Daren Tang, Director General at WIPO. 

Tang found it “particularly encouraging” that "innovation momentum is diversifying across regions”, particularly in middle-income economies like China and India. Countries in Central and Southern Asia and the Middle East are “steadily advancing” and creating a “more diverse innovation landscape”, Tang said. 

The report concluded that “innovation remains a critical driver of competitiveness and resilience”, while recognising a changing dynamic in geographic regions.

The top 10 countries saw few changes this year: Singapore dropped to fifth place, South Korea moved up to fourth, Germany fell to 11th place and was replaced by China in 10th.

Top 10 most innovative countries in 2025

According to the GII, the top 10 most innovative countries in 2025 were:

1. Switzerland
2. Sweden
3. United States
4. Republic of Korea
5. Singapore
6. United Kingdom
7. Finland
8. The Netherlands
9. Denmark
10. China

For more information and to see the full ranking, visit the WIPO website.