Qatar Moves Up 21 Places On Global Innovation Index Since 2020

(MENAFN- The Peninsula) M Mazharul Haque | The Peninsula

Doha, Qatar: Qatar has been ranked 49th on the Global Innovation index (GII) 2024, moving up 21 places since 2020.

The country moved up one place from 2023 in a ranking of 133 countries, according to the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), a United Nations organisation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.

The WIPO's GII ranks world economies according to their innovation capabilities. Consisting of roughly 80 indicators, comprising innovation inputs and outputs, the GII aims to capture the multi-dimensional facets of innovation.

Qatar ranks sixth among 18 economies in Northern Africa and Western Asia, and it ranks 42nd among the 51 high-income group economies.

The country's GII position was 70th with Innovation Inputs 64th and Innovation Outputs 72nd in 2020. It has climbed 21 places on the global index since then, in five years, and solidified position in the top 50 economies. Last year, Qatar ranked 50th on the index with Innovation Inputs 39th and Innovation Outputs 71st.

The Global Innovation Tracker 2024 shows what is the current state of innovation in Qatar, how rapidly technology is being embraced and the resulting societal impacts. For Qatar, six indicators have improved in the short-term and six indicators have declined.

The 17th Edition of the Global Innovation Index 2024 is themed, 'Unlocking the Promise of Social Entrepreneurship.' It is a guide to the innovative performance of 133 countries as well as the world's top 100 science and technology clusters. This year's theme explores the link between innovation and social enterprises, and the impact this delivers for the world.

“In 2023, following the boom years between 2020 and 2022, the R&D expenditures decelerated, the number of scientific publications fell, and venture capital investments returned to pre-pandemic levels, including in Africa and Latin America.

“If tighter financial conditions persist, this will hinder needed innovation investments in the near term,” said the 'Foreword' of the index by Daren Tang, Director General, World Intellectual Property Organisation.

“But we are seeing a continued trend of strong progress from emerging economies. Indonesia, Mauritius, Saudi Arabia,Qatar and Brazil have climbed the most in the GII over the past five years, with China, India, Iran, Morocco, the Philippines and Türkiye the highest risers over the past 10 years. A further 19 economies, primarily in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, are outperforming their development levels in innovation,” Tang added.

In Northern Africa and Western Asia region, United Arab Emirates and Türkiye rank second and third respectively.

Switzerland ranks first in the GII for the 14th consecutive year.

Sweden and the United States maintain second and third positions, respectively.

Singapore (4th) moves further into the top five, followed by the United Kingdom (5th). China - still the only middle-income economy within the GII top 30 - moves up the ranking to edge closer to the top 10, reaching 11th position. Japan remains firm in 13th - a position it has held since 2021.

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