Country rises a position and debuts in the most innovative group in the world, replacing Germany
China reached 10th position in the global innovation ranking in 2025, rising a position compared to last year and marking its debut among the most innovative countries in the world. Germany occupied the 10th position the previous year.
The GII (Global Innovation Index) was released by the WOC (World Intellectual Property Organization) on Tuesday (16.SET.2025). This is the full, in English ( – 26 MB).
The report evaluates the performance of approximately 140 economies based on about 80 different indicators. Switzerland leads the current ranking, followed by Sweden, the United States, South Korea, Singapore, the United Kingdom, Finland, the Netherlands and Denmark, with China completing the group of the top 10.
To determine classification, the study considers items such as research and development investments, risk capital agreements, high -tech exports and intellectual property records. China leads innovation between the classified group as “Mid-income economies”which includes Brazil – posted in 52nd in the index.
The Asian nation stands out for housing the largest number of scientific and technological innovation poles among the 100 main global for the 3rd consecutive year. In total, there were 24 listed in the 2025 index.
In the academic field, the country has a large participation in world scientific production – which reached a record of 2 million articles in 2024. Last year, it contributed 14% growth in its publications.
Currently, China has companies that stand out in investment in research and development in different segments.
Has relevance in the hardware industry; while in software stand out, and. Already in automobiles, appears A, automaker of
“China and other emerging economies, such as India, Vietnam and Brazil, have maintained a strong growth of electric vehicles. Connectivity continued to advance, with 5G coverage reaching half of the global population, although the disparities remain sharp.”says the report.
In the same vein, China led on, holding 41% of the global robot operational inventory in 2023. Then is Japan, with a significantly lower percentage: it has only 10.2% of this technology.
China’s investment in innovation and research is noticeable through the country’s jump in 25 places in the GII ranking. In 2013, it was in position 35 on the list.
ENVIRONMENT
Despite highlighting the aspects of technology and innovation in the world, the ORPI report says that global carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels grew approximately 0.8% from 2023 to 2024.
It is a new increase after a temporary drop of 6% in 2020. Last year, the planet recorded a record increase of 1.3ºC at average temperature above the parameters from 1951 to 1980.
China, which is responsible for 32% of those, should only record a slight increase of 0.2% in its emissions – still with the possibility of reducing.
