France remains stable, China enters the top 10
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) released the 18th edition of its Global Innovation Index (GII) in mid-September 2025. Developed in partnership with the Portulans Institute, the GII has compared the performance of over 139 countries annually since 2007, using nearly 80 indicators, and ranks the top 100 most active innovation clusters worldwide.
France drops (again) by one spot
Ranked 11th in 2023 and 12th in 2024, France falls to 13th place this year but remains within the Top 15. Despite a significant decline in venture capital investments, France maintains strong research and development capabilities, notably supported by the research tax credit. Paris and Lyon are among the top 100 global innovation clusters, with notable performance in transportation and materials chemistry.
Germany exits the top 10, China enters
Switzerland retains the top spot, followed by Sweden and the United States, while Asia strengthens its presence at the top with South Korea and Singapore. A key development: China enters the Top 10 for the first time, reflecting the scale of its R&D efforts and the increasing sophistication of its tech exports. Conversely, Germany drops out of the top 10, landing in 11th place. More detailed country-specific data is available in the GII Innovation Ecosystems & Data Explorer 2025.
Innovation investment slows down
Despite billions invested in AI, innovation-related spending growth has fallen to its lowest level since 2010, at 2.9%, and is expected to continue slowing in 2025. Venture capital is recovering in terms of total amounts but remains more selective in the number of deals, refocusing on AI and ICT after several years of diversification.