Philippines jumps 4 places in latest Global Innovation Index

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines jumped four places in the latest edition of the Global Innovation Index (GII), putting the country in this year’s top 50 list of innovator economies, the Philippine Mission to the United Nations and other international organizations in Geneva announced.

Published by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), a specialized agency of the United Nations that deals with patents, copyrights, trademarks and other forms of intellectual property, the report finds the Philippines well-integrated in global trade.

The GII measures a country’s innovation performance through various indicators such as infrastructure, business sophistication and research output.

“On the heels of our historic 19-slot jump from 73rd to 54th in 2019, the Philippines is proud to have its accomplishments once again recognized in the Global Innovation Index,” said the country’s Permanent Representative to the UN and Other International Organizations, Ambassador Evan Garcia, noting that the GII identifies the Philippines as among states that have shown significant progress in their innovation ranking over the past 10 years.

“As a longstanding partner of the Philippines in the multilateral system, WIPO has provided significant support to our country’s development initiatives through programs that build domestic technical capacities and strengthen linkages between research and the market; it is a partnership that has no doubt fueled our rise in the GII,” he added.

The report finds that the Philippines is well-integrated in global trade, ranking 1st in high-technology imports, 3rd in high-technology exports, 8th in ICT service exports, and 10th in creative goods exports.

The country’s innovation profile shows top 25 rankings for indicators such as research talent, graduates in science and engineering, and high-technology manufacturing.

The GII also lauds the country’s efforts to use innovation as an engine for growth, citing in particular the adoption of the 2019 Philippine Innovation Act, which establishes a National Innovation Council and mandates a whole-of-government approach to fostering and using innovation as a key component of development policies.