India ranks 38 in global innovation index; check top 10
What's the story
India ranks 38th among 139 economies in the Global Innovation Index (GII), which evaluates countries based on their innovation capabilities. It was 39th last year. The index uses around 80 indicators, divided into innovation inputs and outputs, to capture the multi-dimensional aspects of innovation. In this year's ranking, China replaced Germany in the top 10 for the first time, reflecting its rapid growth in research and development. Switzerland retained the top spot, followed by Sweden and the United States.
Investment surge
China closing gap on private sector financing
The GII survey shows that China is on track to become the world's largest R&D spender. The country is rapidly closing the gap in private sector financing. In 2023, China accounted for about a quarter of international patent applications, remaining the largest contributor. This highlights China's growing economic strength and industrial expertise as reflected by its ownership of patents.
Future prospects
Global innovation slowdown
The GII survey also paints a grim picture for global innovation, with R&D growth expected to slow down to 2.3% this year from last year's 2.9%. This is the lowest since 2010 after the financial crisis. Despite slipping to the 11th place, GII co-editor Sacha Wunsch-Vincent said Germany shouldn't be worried about its new position as it doesn't reflect the impact of tariffs imposed by Trump's administration.
Other ranks
South Korea took the 4th rank
The other countries in the top 10 list were South Korea, Singapore, Britain, Finland, Netherlands and Denmark. These nations all rank below the US and above China (10th) in terms of innovation as per GII's assessment. As per the survey, India performed better in innovation outputs than innovation inputs in 2025. The world's most populated nation ranks first in terms of innovation among the 37 lower middle-income group economies.