6 of the world’s top 10 innovators are European, but VC tells another story

What happened

Europe may regularly be criticised for struggling to turn scientific excellence into global technology giants, but data published this week by the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) Global Innovation Index (GII) 2026 offers a useful counterweight to that narrative. Switzerland leads the GII for the 16th consecutive year, followed by Sweden in second place.

The United Kingdom ranks sixth, the Netherlands seventh, Finland eighth and Denmark ninth, meaning six of the global top 10 are European. Germany follows in 11th place, France in 13th, Estonia in 17th, Austria in 18th and Ireland in 19th.

Stretch the ranking slightly further and Europe’s weight becomes even more apparent. WIPO says the region accounts for 14 of the world’s top 25 innovation economies.