Singapore moved up two notches in the 2023 Global Innovation Index (GII) to 5th in the world and regained its top spot in Asia after coming behind South Korea in the last two years.
2. The GII is published by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The index is based on two broad areas: innovation inputs and outputs, and uses 80 indicators to rank 132 countries by their capacity for, and success in, innovation. It is a widely recognised benchmarking tool to guide policymakers and businesses in promoting innovation.
3. Singapore continued to be ranked 1st in innovation inputs and performed well in indicators it is traditionally strong in, namely, ‘Institutions – institutional, regulatory and business environment’ (ranked 1st), ‘Human capital and research’ (2nd, up from 7th in 2022), ‘Infrastructure’ (8th, up from 11th in 2022), and ‘Business sophistication’ (3rd).
4. In innovation outputs, Singapore ranked 12th (up from 14th in 2022) and improved its performance in the indicators ‘Knowledge and technology outputs’ (10th, up from 13th in 2022) and ‘Creative outputs’ (18th, up from 21st in 2022). In relation to intellectual property (IP), Singapore improved its rankings for most of the IP-related indicators with increases in IP applications.
5. Singapore also performed well in a new indicator ‘Unicorn valuations’ (ranked 8th) which is based on the total valuation of all unicorns in a country as a percentage of GDP (a unicorn company is a private company with a valuation of over USD 1 billion). Singapore improved two positions to be ranked first in the ‘Investment’ indicator, as a nod to its dynamic venture capital environment, maintaining top positions in venture capital value and deals received (as scaled by GDP). The conducive investment climate enables businesses to grow and innovation to flourish.
6. Said IPOS Chief Executive, Mrs Rena Lee: “We welcome the latest GII results for Singapore and are encouraged that we have improved our ranking globally and in the region. The GII is a robust and dynamic study that provides valuable insights to help Singapore grow its innovation system. It is also a testament to the combined efforts of the whole of government working with the private and people sectors to nurture an innovative culture and environment for enterprises and creators to thrive.”
7. More details on the GII are available here.
Annex:
Overview of Singapore’s GII results
About IPOS
The Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) helps businesses use IP and intangible assets to grow. We are committed to building Singapore into an international hub for intangible assets and IP to drive Singapore’s future growth. We are a government agency under the Ministry of Law.
