China has secured a place among the world’s ten most innovative nations, marking the first time it enters the top tier of the United Nations Global Innovation Index. Ranked tenth, China’s rise comes as Germany slips to eleventh, highlighting a shift in global leadership as Asia strengthens its role in cutting-edge research and development.
Switzerland retained its crown as the world’s most innovative nation, followed by Sweden and the United States. South Korea and Singapore rounded out the top five, while the United Kingdom, Finland, the Netherlands, and Denmark maintained strong positions. China’s entry marks a milestone, reflecting its growing dominance in patents and high-tech sectors.
The latest rankings also revealed a slowdown in global research and development spending, with growth falling to its weakest level since the financial crisis. Despite this broader deceleration, China now accounts for a quarter of the world’s international patent applications, while traditional powerhouses such as the United States, Japan, and Germany reported slight declines.
Germany’s fall from the top ten underscores the challenges facing Europe’s largest economy, particularly in digital transformation, even as its industrial innovation remains solid. China’s momentum, by contrast, shows how strategic investments in science, technology, and intellectual property are reshaping the innovation map, making the global competition for technological leadership more intense than ever.
Global Innovation Index — Top 10 (2025)
- Switzerland
- Sweden
- United States
- South Korea
- Singapore
- United Kingdom
- Finland
- Netherlands
- Denmark
- China
(*) Source: UN Global Innovation Index (2025) — ranking of 139 economies.
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