Pakistan excels in global innovation rankings

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan continues to make strides in the field of innovation, showcasing remarkable progress for the second consecutive year on the global stage. The 2023 Global Innovation Index (GII) report, released by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), reveals that Pakistan has outperformed expectations, solidifying its position among the world’s ascending economies.

Ranked 88^th among 132 economies featured in the GII, Pakistan has defied conventional expectations by performing exceptionally well relative to its GDP and level of development, as highlighted in the index report.

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The GII is a comprehensive assessment that evaluates the innovation capabilities of countries worldwide. It comprises approximately 80 indicators, categorized into innovation inputs and outputs, providing a comprehensive view of a nation’s innovative capacity.

In the Central and Southern Asia region, Pakistan secured fifth position among the top ten economies. Additionally, among the 37 lower-middle-income economies, Pakistan claims the 12^th spot. Notably, Pakistan’s performance in innovation outputs surpassed its performance in innovation inputs this year, ranking 113^th in the former (a lower position compared to the previous year) and 68^th in the latter (a higher position compared to the previous year).

What sets Pakistan apart is its ability to generate significant innovation outputs relative to its investment in innovation. The nation shines in knowledge and technology outputs (69^th), creative outputs (70^th), and business sophistication (72^nd).

However, there are areas where Pakistan seeks improvement, particularly in infrastructure (120^th), human capital and research (117^th), and institutions (113^th). In the category of lower-middle-income economies, Pakistan’s performance lags behind the group average in market sophistication, human capital and research, infrastructure, and institutions.

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The regional picture reflects similar challenges, with Pakistan performing below the Central and Southern Asia segment’s average in market sophistication, human capital and research, infrastructure, and institutions.

Pakistan’s innovation strengths lie in mobile application creation, high-tech imports, and a robust domestic market scale. On the global scale, Switzerland, Sweden, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Singapore continue to lead the pack as the world’s most innovative economies in 2023.