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World Intangible Investment Highlights

Better Data for Better Business and Policy

Author(s): WIPO

Publication year: 2026

License: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

DOI: English

Co-published annually by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the Luiss Business School (LBS), this third edition of the World Intangible Investment Highlights presents the latest cross-country statistics on investment in intangible assets such as research and development, software, data, design, brands and organizational know-how. The report covers 29 high- and middle-income economies, including, for the first time, Canada and the Philippines. Drawing on data from the Global INTAN-Invest Database (July 2026 release), this report shows that global intangible investment surpassed USD 10 trillion in 2025, and has been growing more than three times faster than tangible investment since 2008.

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