Cyprus has advanced two positions to rank 25th out of 139 economies in the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2025, placing 24th among high-income economies and securing 2nd place in the Northern Africa & Western Asia region. The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) also recognizes Cyprus as an “innovation leader” within the global top 25.

The 2025 GII profile shows that Cyprus continues to deliver higher-quality innovation outputs compared to its inputs. Output performance rose to 16th (from 17th in 2024), while input performance slipped slightly to 36th (from 35th). According to the report, Cyprus produces more innovation outputs relative to its level of innovation investments.

Over the last six years, Cyprus has consistently improved, moving from 29th in 2020 to 25th in 2025.

The Global Innovation Tracker highlights:

• Improvements: Scientific publications (+5.4% in 2023–2024), venture-capital deal numbers (+17.6% in 2023–2024).

• Declines: International patent filings (−22.7% in 2023–2024), R&D investment (−0.7% in 2022–2023).

>>Cyprus Drops Sharply in 2025 EU Innovation Rankings<<

Cyprus performs best in Creative outputs (11th), supported by Business sophistication (24th) and Knowledge & technology outputs (24th). The country scores above the high-income group average in these areas and outperforms the regional average across these three pillars.

Conversely, the weakest areas remain Human capital & research (51st), Institutions (49th), Infrastructure (47th), and, to a lesser extent, Market sophistication (34th).

Cyprus ranks first globally in:

• Mobile-app creation, per PPP$ GDP

• Cultural & creative services exports, % total trade

• ICT services exports, % total trade

• ICT services imports, % total trade

• VC investor co-participation, per PPP$ GDP

Other key strengths:

• Industrial designs by origin, per PPP$ GDP

• Government funding per secondary pupil, % GDP/cap

• FDI net inflows, % GDP

• Secondary pupil-teacher ratio

• VC investor deal count, per PPP$ GDP

Structural constraints persist, with the weakest indicators including:

• High-tech imports, % total trade

• Domestic market scale, per PPP$ GDP

• Graduates in science & engineering, % total trade

• Youth demographic dividend, %

• Finance for startups & scaleups

• Entrepreneurship policies & culture

• Intangible-asset intensity %

• Market capitalization, % GDP

• Unicorn valuation, % GDP

• Global corporate R&D investors, top 3, mn USD

Cyprus has no entries in the world’s top innovation clusters for 2025. The Bank of Cyprus remains the country’s most valuable global brand at USD 366 million.

The Global Innovation Index, published by WIPO, ranks around 140 economies by innovation capabilities and results. It evaluates institutions, human capital, infrastructure, investment, knowledge creation, and creative outputs. Structured into two sub-indices and seven pillars, the GII serves as both a global benchmark and policy tool for innovation.