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The Global Innovation Index (GII), published by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) —a specialized agency of the United Nations—is a comprehensive benchmarking tool that measures the innovation performance of countries and economies worldwide. Recognizing innovation as a critical driver of economic growth and competitiveness, the GII provides detailed rankings and in-depth analysis covering approximately 140 economies. Over the past decade, it has become both a leading global reference on innovation and a practical “tool for action,” widely used by governments and organizations to inform and enhance their innovation strategies.
Methodology
The GII uses a set of indicators that are categorized into 7 main pillars and grouped into two sub-indices: Innovation Inputs and Innovation Outputs.
This score of the index is calculated by averaging the scores of two indices —the innovation input index and the innovation output index (explained in the next paragraph)-. The scores (out of 100) show how strong or weak a country is in that area compared to others, by providing country ranking based on the scores. The Global Innovation Index (GII) does normalize data across countries so that results are comparable.
Below is a summary of the sub-Indices and their pillars along with Kuwait insights.
Innovation Input Sub-Index
-Institutions: Political stability, regulatory quality, and institutional framework.
-Human Capital and Research: Quality of education, R&D spending, and the availability of skilled workers.
-Infrastructure: Access to and quality of physical and digital infrastructure.
-Market Sophistication: Access to finance, credit, venture capital, and other resources for businesses and startups.
-Business Sophistication: Business investments, knowledge workers, and collaboration between firms.
Innovation Output Sub-Index
Knowledge and Technology Outputs: Patents, trademarks, high-tech exports, and research publications.
Creative Outputs: Cultural and creative goods exports, online creativity, and intangible assets like brands.
Kuwait Insights from GII 2025 Report
Kuwait’s overall GII score is 28.20, showing a very slight increase from 28.10 in 2024. However, its global ranking has slightly declined to 73rd
out of 139 countries, compared to 71st in the 2024 report. The figure below illustrates Kuwait’s GII ranking over the past five years. Additionally, the table presents a comparison of Kuwait’s 2024 and 2025 ranks across the Innovation Input and Output sub-indices and their respective pillars.
**2024 Ranking among 132 countries.
The table below shows the factors considered by GII in evaluating Kuwait's Innovation
Summary points
• In 2025, Kuwait ranks 67th in the Innovation Input Index, showing improvement compared to last year. However, based on the Innovation Output Index, Kuwait has slipped 9 ranks relative to 2024.
• Kuwait’s highest rankings are in Infrastructure (52nd ) and Human Capital and Research (55th). Its lowest ranking is in Business Sophistication (113th), although this sub-indicator has shown a notable improvement compared to the previous year.
• Overall, Kuwait performs below the High-Income Group average across all pillars but above the regional average (Northern Africa and Western Asia) in Human Capital and Research and Infrastructure.
The chart below shows Kuwait's position in comparison to GCC scores and rankings:
2025 GII Score and Ranking for GCC Countries
• In 2025, the United Arab Emirates advances to 30th place, marking continued progress and its best rank to date.
• Most GCC economies, except Kuwait, improved their innovation rankings in 2025.
• Bahrain and Oman entered the top 70 in the global innovation rankings.
• There is a growing global recognition of the importance of sustainability and green innovation in economic recovery.
How can we enhance Kuwait’s Ranking
After analyzing the factors influencing Kuwait’s GII ranking and considering its innovation ecosystem, the overall ranking can be improved by focusing on the following key areas:
Data Collection
There are several missing and outdated data points for Kuwait, as noted in the Global Innovation Index report. Addressing these gaps could have a significant impact on improving Kuwait’s overall ranking.
R&D Investment and STEM Education
•Increase investment in research and development (R&D) and strengthen STEM education to develop a robust innovation talent pipeline.
•Enhance collaboration between academia, industry, and government through joint R&D projects.
•Expand private sector R&D through co-funding initiatives and targeted innovation grants.
Financial Support
•Expand access to venture capital and other funding mechanisms to accelerate innovation.
•Support the development of fintech and emerging financial technologies.
•Co-invest in national innovation priorities to stimulate high-impact projects.
•Enable startup growth through tailored financial products and innovation-focused partnerships.
Digital Infrastructure
•Enhance digital infrastructure and establish innovation hubs to promote cross-sector collaboration.
•Leverage digital transformation by building on existing strengths and expanding digital and data infrastructure.
Patent Activity
•Boost patent activity and promote research commercialization to increase knowledge outputs.
•Strengthen intellectual property (IP) laws to protect and encourage creative and innovative endeavors.
SME and Start-up Support
•Improve access to finance for SMEs and startups to fuel growth and innovation.
•Encourage market-driven innovation by providing mentorship, incubation programs, and innovation-focused partnerships.
Creative Outputs
•Support cultural industries, media startups, and design sectors to strengthen Kuwait’s innovation outputs.
•Foster a vibrant creative ecosystem that contributes to economic diversification and knowledge-based growth.
Diversification
•Promote non-oil high-tech exports to reduce dependency on traditional sectors.
•Scale up emerging sectors such as fintech, artificial intelligence (AI), and renewable energy to drive sustainable growth and innovation.
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