WIPO: Philippines among top growers in knowledge economy

CEBU, Philippines — The Philippines ranked among the world’s fastest-growing economies for investment in knowledge-based assets over the past decade, highlighting a shift toward innovation as the country seeks to strengthen long-term competitiveness after attaining upper-middle-income status.

A report released this month by the World Intellectual Property Organization found the Philippines generated $49.1 billion in intangible investments in 2022, driven by rising spending on research and development (R&D), software, brands and other intellectual property.

The country’s real intangible investment expanded at a compound annual growth rate of 3.9 percent from 2012 to 2022, outpacing the global average of 3.5 percent.

The Philippines posted the third-fastest growth among 29 economies covered in the latest “World Intangible Investment Highlights”, trailing only India and Japan based on the most recent data. Growth briefly slowed during the Covid-19 pandemic before rebounding 4.6 percent in 2022.

The report, published by WIPO in partnership with the Luiss Business School, underscores the growing importance of intangible assets as countries increasingly rely on innovation, technology and intellectual property to drive economic expansion.

Globally, investment in intangible assets has been rising at nearly three times the pace of tangible investments, with the 29 economies surveyed accounting for more than $10 trillion in intangible investment in 2025, led by the U.S., Japan and Germany.

Research and development emerged as the Philippines’ fastest-growing intangible asset, expanding at a 20.1 percent compound annual rate between 2012 and 2022.

Investment in software and databases followed with an 18.3 percent annual growth rate, the fastest among all economies surveyed for that category.

Although R&D and software together accounted for only about 15 percent of the country’s total intangible investment, spending on R&D increased more than sixfold over the decade while software and database investment rose more than fivefold, signaling a gradual shift toward a more innovation-driven economy.

Organizational capital remained the country’s largest intangible asset, representing 48.3 percent of total investment, followed by brands at 28.9 percent. Brand investment reached $14.2 billion, placing the Philippines among the world’s 12 largest investors in the category as companies increasingly treat brands as strategic assets in the artificial intelligence era.

Despite the gains, tangible investments still dominate the Philippine economy, accounting for about 20 percent of gross domestic product compared with 4.4 percent for intangible assets, reflecting the priorities of a middle-income economy that continues to invest heavily in infrastructure and physical capital.

Speaking at the report’s launch in Geneva on July 8, Teodoro C. Pascua said the findings come as the Philippines enters a new phase of development following its transition to upper-middle-income status.

“The experience of advanced economies shows that sustained investments in knowledge, technology and IP become the strongest drivers of productivity and growth,” Pascua said, adding that the country’s rapid gains in R&D, software and brands highlight the need to strengthen innovation policies and intellectual property systems.

Marco M. Alemán said intellectual property enables businesses and economies to capture the value created by intangible assets and provides policymakers with better visibility into the role of knowledge-based investments.

The 2026 edition marks the Philippines’ first inclusion in the World Intangible Investment Highlights, reflecting growing international recognition of the country’s expanding knowledge economy.