India ranks 39th in GII 2024; Switzerland leads for 14th consecutive year

India secured the 39th position out of a total of 133 economies with a score of 38.3 in the recently released Global Innovative Index (GII) 2024 — a slight improvement of one rank from last year when the country was placed at the 40th rank with a score of 38.1.

According to the report, India continued to top the charts as the best innovation economy in the Central and Southern Asian region. Further, India was one of the countries in the lower-middle income group to have performed above expectations on innovation relative to their level of development, continuing to be the best innovation economy among the lower-middle income group countries.

"India’s strengths lie in key indicators such as ICT (Information and Communication Technology) services exports (1st), venture capital received (6th), and intangible asset intensity (7th). India’s unicorn companies also secured the country the 8th rank globally," the report said.

The GII report uses seven indicators: Institutions, Human Capital and Research, Infrastructure, Market Sophistication, Business Sophistication, Knowledge and Technology Outputs, and Creative Outputs.

India improved both its rank and score on Infrastructure and Creative Outputs indicators from last year, when it fared worse in three parameters namely Human Capital & Research, Market Sophistication, and Business Sophistication in both rank and score.

Although India’s score declined under the Institutions parameter from 53.9 to 51.5, its rank improved marginally from 56 to 54. Under the Knowledge and Technology Outputs head, India’s rank remained the same at 22nd position while its score dipped from 39.7 to 38.8.

Meanwhile, Switzerland secured the first rank in the GII 2024 report with a score of 67.5 for the 14th consecutive year, closely followed by Sweden and the US at the second and third positions with scores of 64.5 and 62.4, respectively.