Worldwide: Results of the Global Innovation Index 20231
In the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2023 by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the United Arab Emirates has retained its position as the most innovative country in the MENA region, followed by Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar.
Over the past four years, especially since the onset of the pandemic, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have demonstrated significant advancements in the MENA region. Turkey and the Islamic Republic of Iran have emerged as remarkable innovators in the MENA region over the past decade.
The UAE has remained steadfast in its ranking, securing the 32nd position and nearing the top 30. The UAE was ranked 31st globally and 1st regionally in 2022. The UAE's overall rank improved from last year and continues to lead the Arab region for the 7th consecutive year. 2 The UAE has made a remarkable economic shift in recent decades to become a thriving center of trade, tourism, and services.
According to the GII 2023 profile, while IP-related rankings are still evolving, the UAE remains committed to emphasizing the significance of intellectual property.3
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The Global Innovation Index 2023: Economy profiles for UAE (comparison to 20224) |
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Value/Score |
Ranking |
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|
2023 |
2022 |
2023 |
2022 |
|
|
Business environment |
91.7 |
89.4 |
2 |
1 |
|
Tertiary education |
71.2 |
71.5 |
1 |
1 |
|
Information and communication technologies (ICTs) |
89.0 |
90.2 |
14 |
13 |
|
General infrastructure |
58.4 |
64.6 |
8 |
4 |
|
Innovation linkages |
56.3 |
47.8 |
15 |
19 |
|
Intellectual Property related columns |
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|
Intellectual property payments, % total trade |
0.7 |
0.7 |
58 |
56 |
|
Patents by origin/bn PPP$ GDP |
0.1 |
0.1 |
112 |
113 |
|
PCT patents by origin/bn PPP$ GDP |
0.1 |
0.2 |
54 |
55 |
|
Utility models by origin/bn PPP$ GDP |
0.0 |
0.0 |
72 |
76 |
|
Intellectual property receipts, % total trade |
1.0 |
1.0 |
22 |
21 |
|
Trademarks by origin/bn PPP$ GDP |
11.4 |
9.7 |
109 |
110 |
|
Industrial designs by origin/bn PPP$ GDP |
0.1 |
0.1 |
110 |
115 |
Saudi Arabia (48th) and Qatar (50th) have both secured places in the top 50. Other Middle Eastern economies, including Bahrain (67th), Oman (69th), Jordan (71st), and Egypt (86th), have also shown notable improvements in their innovation rankings. Bahrain and Oman have even broken into the top 70, while Jordan narrowly misses this threshold.
As evident, the Middle East has experienced consistent and positive trends in innovation rankings.
Footnotes
1. https://www.wipo.int/edocs/pubdocs/en/wipo-pub-2000-2023-en-main-report-global-innovation-index-2023-16th-edition.pdf
2. Innovation | The Official Portal of the UAE Government
3. WIPO to Support IP Projects in the UAE (2023.2.18)
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