Pakistan has jumped up 8 places to 99th in 2021 from 107th in 2020 on the Global Innovation Index.
The country has been ranked at 17th place among the 34 lower-middle-income countries on the list while it has been placed at 7th position among the 10 economies in Central and South Asian countries on the list.
According to the Global Innovation Index 2021, relative to GDP, Pakistan’s performance this year remained on par with its level of development. Furthermore, the country produced more ‘innovation outputs’ this year relative to its level of ‘innovation investment.’
Among the 34 lower-middle-income countries on the list, Pakistan fares better than most of them in four key areas; Institutions, Business Sophistication, Knowledge and Technology Outputs, and Creative Outputs.
Among the 10 Central and South Asian countries on the list, Pakistan outperforms most of them in key four areas; Institutions, Business Sophistication, Knowledge and Technology Outputs, and Creative Outputs.
The report pointed out that Pakistan has fared the best in the area of Knowledge and Technology Outputs while it has performed the weakest in the area of Market Sophistication.
Global Innovation Index is published each year, which compares the innovative power of 132 countries in seven key areas.
Let’s have a look at Pakistan’s ranking across each of these areas.
| Area | Rank |
| Knowledge and Technology Outputs | 71st |
| Creative Outputs | 87th |
| Business Sophistication | 88th |
| Institutions | 99th |
| Infrastructure | 117th |
| Human Capital and Research | 117th |
| Market Sophistication | 120th |
As for overall rankings, Switzerland topped the Global Innovation Index for the consecutive 11th year. Switzerland is followed by Sweden, the US, and the UK on the 2021 index. The top four of the Global Innovation Index 2021 remained unchanged from the previous year.
Let’s have a look at the top 10 countries on the Global Innovation Index 2021.
| Country | Rank |
| Switzerland | 1st |
| Sweden | 2nd |
| US | 3rd |
| UK | 4th |
| South Korea | 5th |
| Netherlands | 6th |
| Finland | 7th |
| Singapore | 8th |
| Denmark | 9th |
| Germany | 10th |
