Indonesia Remains in 55th Place on the Global Innovation Index 2026
Nov 03, 2026
JAKARTA: Indonesia remains in the 55th position out of 139 countries on the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2026. The ranking is the same as in 2025, showing that Indonesia's innovation ranking remains relatively stable amid increasingly intense global competition.
According to the 2026 GII report issued by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) on 29 September 2026, the ranking is based on the organization's assessment of 139 economies worldwide.
The report states that the assessment covers a range of aspects, ranging from research and development, human resources, and infrastructure to innovation output and the utilization of intellectual property.
Indonesia's position on the global innovation map has remained largely unchanged over the past few years compared to the previous year. According to the data, in the past few years, progress in the GII shows a considerable improvement.
In 2020, Indonesia was ranked 85th in the GII; one year later, it fell to 87th, rose again to 75th in 2022, and reached 61st place in 2023. In 2024, Indonesia reached its best ranking at 54th, before slipping to 55th in 2025 and remaining there in 2026.
Among ASEAN countries, competition in innovation is intensifying. In the 2026 GII report, Singapore is the most innovative country among ASEAN members. The archipelagic nation ranks among the top 5 most innovative countries worldwide, alongside Switzerland, Sweden, the US, and South Korea. Malaysia ranks second in ASEAN, followed by Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Cambodia, and Brunei Darussalam.
The 2026 GII report places Indonesia among the middle-income economies that have made long-term progress. However, WIPO also highlights that limited depth in the innovation ecosystem—including research capacity, corporate R&D, patents, and the linkages between science and industry—remains a challenge for a number of developing countries, including Indonesia.
The 2026 Global Innovation Index (GII) is published by WIPO under the guidance of the GII Advisory Board and Global Innovation Index Industry Association Network (GIIIAN). GII is currently entering its 19th edition and has evolved from a magazine article into a powerful tool used by countries worldwide to measure innovation and shape their economic policy. In WIPO's 2025-2026 survey, 78% of responding member states (93 out of 120) reported using GII to improve their innovation policies and data.
WIPO GII uses approximately 80 indicators—from research and development (R&D) to high-tech trade, skilled labor, and intellectual property licensing—to evaluate the innovation performance of nearly 140 economies. This index serves as a global reference for policymakers, business leaders, and other stakeholders seeking to understand the drivers of innovation in various countries/economies.
According to 2026 GII estimates, global R&D expenditure grew by more than 3.3% in real terms in 2025 and is projected to rise by 3.6% in 2026 to US$3.4 trillion.
According to a WIPO release, this growth in R&D spending is increasingly evident in middle-income countries that have performed well, such as Egypt, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam. Corporate R&D spending grew 5.8% in real terms in 2025 to US$1.5 trillion—the highest level ever recorded—driven by software and AI companies as well as R&D activities in the defense sector. (su)
