Global Innovation Index: Philippines rises to 53rd

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines was among the fastest risers in a decade in the latest Global Innovation Index (GII) of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), moving up three places this year to 53rd out of 133 economies.

The report released yesterday showed the country was among the fastest 10-year climbers starting from 90th in 2013.

Other economies that have made the biggest advances in the GII in the past decade are China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Turkey, Vietnam and Morocco.

Aside from the Philippines moving up three ranks from the previous year’s 56th, the WIPO said it has also attained third position in the lower middle-income group.

The Philippines’ 2024 GII rank is also better than the
 government’s target of placing 54th this year under the Philippine Development Plan (PDP).

The GII ranks economies based on their innovation ecosystem performance and tracks global innovation trends. It is intended to guide policymakers, business leaders and others in unleashing human ingenuity to improve lives and address shared challenges, like climate change.

“Notable areas in which it excels are trade-related indicators, including high-tech exports (first globally), high-tech imports, creative goods exports and ICT (information communications technology) services exports,” WIPO said.

It said the Philippines has also made advances, albeit at lower levels, in intangible assets, driven by its strong global brand value and the intangible asset intensity of its companies.

The Philippines moved up in almost all pillars tracked by the report. In particular, it ranked 65th in the institutions pillar, up from 79th in the previous year.

In human capital and research, the Philippines moved up to 84th from 88th last year.

As for infrastructure, the Philippines climbed to 85th from 86th in 2023.

The Philippines, however, saw its ranking go down to 77th in market sophistication from 55th last year.

In terms of business sophistication, the Philippines rose to 37th from 38th in 2023.

It also moved up in knowledge and technology outputs to 42nd place from the previous year’s 46th.

In creative outputs, the Philippines’ rank remained at 60th.

Under the PDP, the aim is for the Philippines to rank 43rd in the GII by 2028.