The Global Innovation Index (GII) 2025 by WIPO assesses the innovation capacity of 139 countries using around 80 indicators, including patent applications, which are considered a key signal of an economy’s technological strength.
Switzerland tops the ranking, followed by Sweden, the United States, South Korea, and Singapore. For the first time, China enters the Top Ten, mainly thanks to its patent filings.
Overview of Filings
According to the WIPO report, the global number of PCT filings in 2024 grew by only 0.5%.
Overall growth continues, but it is lower than in previous years, and several countries experienced a decline.
In terms of sectors, digital communication rose to first place in PCT applications, overtaking information technology, and accounted for 10.5% of the total.
USA, Europe, and Italy
Looking in more detail by region, we see that the United States, while ranking second in number of PCT filings with just over 54,000 applications, recorded a 2.8% decline compared to the previous year. This marks the third consecutive year of decline for the U.S., which sees Apple and Google falling out of the Top Ten companies.
A similar situation is seen in Europe, with Germany—the leading EU country—ranking fifth, but also declining for the second year in a row. Other countries in the Top Ten include France and the Netherlands, as well as the UK and Switzerland. Italy is just outside the Top Ten, ranking twelfth overall, but remains stable in fifth place among EU countries.
Asian Growth
With many Western countries seeing declines, overall growth is clearly influenced by the Asian market and, in particular, China, the global leader in patent applications.
China is becoming increasingly central in international production networks and in strategic sectors such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors, and green technologies.
Notably, it is the only middle-income country among the top thirty. Japan, despite a decline, and South Korea also contribute significantly, ranking third and fourth respectively in number of patent applications filed.
Innovation Clusters
The report highlights the importance of major innovation hubs.
China is home to 24 of the top 100 innovation clusters, and the Shenzhen–Hong Kong–Guangzhou cluster ranks first in the world for innovation intensity.
Other important clusters include San Jose–San Francisco for the United States and Tokyo–Yokohama for Japan, confirming the significant impact of innovation clusters on the top positions in patent filings.
Amedeo Sebastiani