# Pakistan Ranks 95th in Global Innovation Index 2026

> Pakistan climbs 4 ranks to 95th globally in 2026 innovation index, reclaiming 'overperformer' status.
- Title: Pakistan Ranks 95th in Global Innovation Index 2026 · Dawn
- Summary: Pakistan climbs 4 ranks to 95th globally in 2026 innovation index, reclaiming 'overperformer' status. Pakistan rose to 95th place in the 2026 Global…
- Keywords: pakistan, global innovation index, world intellectual property organisation, innovation outputs, innovation inputs, overperformer, digital economy, mobile app creation, ict services exports, high-tech imports, software spending, scientific production
- Source: Dawn — https://dawn.com/news/2040752/pakistan-overperformer-in-innovation-climbs-4-ranks-globally-report
- Author: Amin Ahmed
- Published: 2026-10-29T18:04:54+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: pakistan, global innovation index, world intellectual property organisation, innovation outputs, innovation inputs, overperformer, digital economy, mobile app creation, ict services exports, high-tech imports, software spending, scientific production
## Pakistan's Global Innovation Rank
Pakistan rose to 95th place among 139 economies in the 2026 Global Innovation Index published by WIPO.
## Ranking Improvement
Pakistan advanced from 99th place in 2025 to 95th in 2026, reclaiming 'overperformer' status for the fourth time.
## Overperformer Status
Pakistan holds 'overperformer' status for the fourth time, having held it in 2022 and 2024.
## Innovation Performance
Pakistan ranked 121st in innovation inputs and 72nd in innovation outputs in 2026, both higher than last year.
## Innovation Overperformance
The report states innovation overperformance shows innovation does not follow a straight line from income to results.
## Digital Economy Strengths
Pakistan's strengths are concentrated in digital economy, particularly mobile app creation, ICT services exports, high-tech imports, and software spending.
## Scientific Production
The country's relatively strong scientific production and university quality supported a developing digital economy.
## Regional Ranking
Pakistan ranked 15th among 36 lower middle-income group economies and eighth among 11 central and southern Asian economies.
## Historical Trend
Pakistan's GII ranking rose from 107th in 2020 to 95th in 2026, with improvements in 2021-2025.
## Top Innovation Economies
Switzerland, Sweden, and the United States remained the world's top three innovation economies with Switzerland ranking first for 16th consecutive year.
## Asian Economies
Five Asian economies ranked in top 25: South Korea, Singapore, China, Japan, and Hong Kong, China.
## Innovation Tracker
The GII 2026 Innovation Tracker showed continued but slower progress across the innovation cycle.
## Global R&D Intensity
Global research and development intensity remained close to two percent of GDP, at a historic high.
## Economic Outlook
Global growth is expected to ease from 3.4pc in 2025 to around 3pc in 2026, held back by higher energy prices and elevated uncertainty.
## AI Investment
The largest hyper-scalers will spend over $1 trillion on AI infrastructure across 2025 and 2026.
## Key takeaway

Pakistan rose to 95th place in the 2026 Global Innovation Index, advancing from 99th in 2025 and regaining its 'overperformer' status for the fourth time.