Slovenia ranks 35th in the world in the Global Innovation Index 2025
The World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) has published the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2025. The GII is the leading benchmark for measuring the performance of the innovation ecosystem in the international economic and geopolitical environment. It ranks countries across the world in terms of innovation performance using 79 indicators.
Slovenia ranks 35th, which is one place lower than last year. It is followed by Malaysia (34th) and Hungary (36th like last year). Among other neighbouring countries, Austria is ranked 19th (17th last year), Italy is ranked 28th (26th last year), and Croatia 40th (43rd last year). Among 39 European countries, Slovenia's ranking dropped one place to 22nd. Among 54 high-income group economies, Slovenia is ranked 33rd. In terms of expected versus observed innovation performance relative to gross domestic product, Slovenia exhibits an innovation performance that matches the level expected by its economic development.
The Global Innovation Tracker 2025, which provides an insight into the country's innovation performance, shows a short-term improvement in seven and a deterioration in four innovation performance indicators for Slovenia.
Among the seven GII areas, where individual indicators are ranked, Slovenia ranks highest in Infrastructure (20th place, last year 26th), Human capital and research (26th place compared to 24th place last year) and Knowledge and technological outputs (remains in 27th place). In all three areas, it performs above the average scores among European and high-income economies. However, it ranks lowest in the areas of Market sophistication (63rd place), Creative outputs (53rd place) and Institutions (48th place).
Switzerland remains at the top of the list of the world's most innovative countries, followed by Sweden, the United States of America (USA), South Korea and Singapore. China also entered the top ten for the first time this year. The GII also shows that the group of middle-income economies, led by China, India (38th), Turkey (43rd), Vietnam (44th), the Philippines (50th), Indonesia (55th) and Morocco (57th), continue their climb in the ranking.
European countries remain among the most innovative. As many as 15 European economies rank among the global top 25, of which six are ranked in the top ten. Thirteen out of 39 European economies have moved up the ranks, marking a notable increase from nine last year. Among these countries, notable increases were recorded in Ireland (18th), Belgium (21st) and Norway (20th).
One of the key findings of this year's GII edition, published by WIPO in partnership with the Portulans Institute and entitled "Innovation at a Crossroads", is that investment in R&D is still growing, although this growth has been steadily slowing down. The number of venture capital deals fell by 4.4 percent globally for the third consecutive year, with a return to investments in the traditional range of sectors and regions, while the value of these investments increased by 8 percent. The number of international patent filings increased slightly again (by 0.5 percent), with growth being particularly strong in South Korea, while it continued to decline in the USA, Japan and Germany.
The report also highlights the continued strong technological progress and the continued adoption of technology, albeit at a slower pace. Socio-economic indicators have improved – labour productivity and life expectancy rose, and poverty has further declined.
This year’s GII reveals a world in transition, where innovation remains a key driver of competitiveness and resilience, but its character and geographical distribution are rapidly changing. While the group of innovation leaders remains largely stable, the global innovation landscape is becoming increasingly diverse, with more middle-income countries making steady progress and shifting regional dynamics. The WIPO Director General summed up the findings by saying: “The takeaway is clear: innovation needs to continue to be nurtured. Like an engine, it needs to be maintained, supported and updated in order to run at maximum speed."
Visit the WIPO's website to view the full report and other information, including the key summaries by country.
Source: WIPO press release, WIPO event: Launch of the Global Innovation Index 2025