Welcome to the 19th edition of WIPO's flagship Global Innovation Index (GII) which takes the pulse of innovation across 139 economies and ranks the world's top 100 innovation clusters.
At a time of economic, social and technological disruption, heightened by advances in AI, the question for policymakers is not just how to generate new ideas and discoveries, but how we turn great ideas into real products, businesses and jobs that represent real value for economies and societies.
This year's special theme, "Powering Entrepreneurs at the Frontier of Science", examines how science-based startups and university spinouts turn frontier research into commercial ventures in fields such as health technologies, quantum computing and agritech, and in countries of all stages of economic development. To support the analysis, the GII 2026 introduces the Dealroom-WIPO Deep Science Startup Tracker, the first global mapping of deep science startups and university spinouts.
Close to 100 WIPO Member States already use the GII to benchmark innovation performance and inform national strategies. It continues to serve as a trusted resource for ministers, policymakers, researchers and businesses seeking to strengthen innovation ecosystems around the world.
Daren Tang
Director General
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)