Hong Kong climbs to 14th in Global Innovation Index 2026, retains 5th place in Asia

Hong Kong has risen one place to 14th among 139 economies in the World Intellectual Property Organization’s Global Innovation Index (GII) 2026, while maintaining its position as the fifth-ranked economy in Asia.

According to the Office of the Government Economist, Hong Kong held steady at 8th place globally on the Innovation Input sub-index and improved one position to 21st on the Innovation Output sub-index.

Under Innovation Input, Hong Kong scored above the high-income economy average across all five pillars. Market Sophistication ranked 2nd worldwide. Human Capital and Research, Institutions, and Infrastructure advanced to 6th, 7th and 11th respectively.

In the sub-pillars, Hong Kong remained 1st globally in Credit. It also placed in the world top 10 in several areas: Tertiary Education (3rd), Information and Communication Technology (4th), Investment (4th), Institutional Environment (9th) and Business Environment (10th). Gross expenditure on research and development and the number of researchers continued to increase.

On the Innovation Output side, the Creative Outputs pillar rose two places to 15th, while Knowledge and Technology Outputs improved one place to 29th. Patent filings and mobile application creation also continued to grow.

A government spokesman said the authorities were pleased with the progress. Expediting innovation and technology (I&T) development remains a policy priority under Hong Kong’s First Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development (2026–2030). The government will enhance the institutional framework for I&T, accelerate alignment with key national technology strategies, and build a new paradigm of “three major I&T parks and five key research and development institutions.” In particular, the Hong Kong Park of the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone will work in synergy with the San Tin Technopole to create coordinated upstream, midstream and downstream development, forming a comprehensive industrial ecosystem covering research and development, commercialisation, pilot production and mass production.

Hong Kong will also advance new industrialisation suited to local conditions, pursue the AI+ Initiative across the board by strengthening computing infrastructure, support small and medium-sized enterprises in adopting artificial intelligence, and apply AI to empower various economic sectors. The city will further leverage its dual connections to the Mainland and the rest of the world to develop an international hub for science and technology co-operation and deepen collaboration within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, thereby attracting global I&T resources and talent.

The government aims to realise the vision set out in the Five-Year Plan of essentially establishing Hong Kong as an international I&T centre based in the Greater Bay Area, serving the country and connected to the world, after 2030.