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Croatia ranks 43rd in the global innovation index

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Croatia ranks 43rd out of 133 economies, according to the 17th edition of the global innovation index (GII) presented by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), reported on Wednesday by the State Intellectual Property Office (DZIV).

This is nominally slightly lower than in previous years when Croatia was ranked 41st and 42nd, but considering the year-on-year differences in data availability and changes in methodology, the results are not fully comparable.

Based on previous results, it can be concluded that Croatia has stabilized on the ranking for years, between 41st and 45th place, according to DZIV.

According to this year’s GII, Croatia ranks 37th among 51 high-income countries and 27th among 39 economies in Europe.

In relation to gross domestic product (GDP), Croatia’s innovation performance is lower than expected for its level of development. In terms of effectively translating investments in innovation into innovation results, Croatia has improved its results and produces more innovation outcomes relative to its level of investment in innovation.

Of the seven areas covered by the GII, Croatia has progressed according to this year’s GII and is best ranked in the areas of infrastructure where it ranks 23rd, knowledge and technology results with 32nd place, and human capital and research where it ranks 41st, and it has also improved in its weakest areas of institutions (68th), business sophistication (54th), and creative results (50th).

According to the global innovation index for 2024, Switzerland ranks first for the 14th consecutive year, Sweden is second, and the United States is third. They are followed by Singapore, the United Kingdom, and Korea. Among the best are also Finland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Denmark.

The WIPO’s 17th edition of the GII covers 133 countries and the 100 best global science and technology clusters.

The 2024 edition indicates a significant easing of leading indicators of future innovative activity, including a decline in investment in innovation compared to the previous period from 2020 to 2022.

Due to higher interest rates, venture capital financing has decreased by about 40 percent in 2023, and there is a noticeable decline in research and development expenditures as well as a decrease in the number of international patent applications and scientific publications to pre-pandemic levels.

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