Pakistan has moved up four places in the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2026, to 95th out of 139 economies, from 99th last year. The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) also named Pakistan an “overperformer,” which means it does better on innovation than expected for its income level. Here is what the report says, where Pakistan is strong and where it is still weak.
Pakistan’s Ranking at a Glance
| Measure | 2026 result |
|---|---|
| Overall rank | 95th of 139 (99th in 2025) |
| Innovation inputs | 121st |
| Innovation outputs | 72nd |
| Lower-middle-income economies | 15th of 36 |
| Central and Southern Asia | 8th of 11 |
The WIPO country profile says Pakistan’s overall rank has a confidence interval of 85th to 100th, so the exact position is an estimate. Both input and output ranks improved from last year. These figures come from the WIPO profile and Dawn (29 October 2026, updated 30 October).
What Is an Overperformer?
WIPO gives this label to economies that do better than expected for their level of development. Pakistan regained the status, which Dawn says it also held in 2022 and 2024. WIPO says Pakistan produces more innovation outputs relative to what it invests in inputs. In its words, “Innovation overperformance shows that innovation does not follow a straight line from income to results.”
Pakistan’s Ranks Over the Years
| Year | Overall rank |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 107th |
| 2021 | 99th |
| 2022 | 87th |
| 2023 | 88th |
| 2024 | 91st |
| 2025 | 99th |
| 2026 | 95th |
The best rank in these years was 87th in 2022. Pakistan’s 2026 position is better than last year but not yet back to that level.
Where Pakistan Is Strong
WIPO’s profile lists these indicator ranks:
- Mobile app creation: 10th.
- ICT services exports as a share of trade: 15th.
- High-tech imports as a share of trade: 19th.
- Youth demographic dividend: 25th.
- Domestic market scale: 26th.
- Software spending as a share of GDP: 33rd.
WIPO, as reported by Dawn, also calls Pakistan’s scientific production and university quality “relatively strong.”
Where Pakistan Is Weak
- Expenditure on education as a share of GDP: 128th.
- Gross capital formation as a share of GDP: 128th.
- Domestic credit to the private sector as a share of GDP: 121st.
- School life expectancy: 116th.
By pillar, Pakistan ranks 126th on institutions and 119th on human capital and research, its two lowest. Its best pillar is knowledge and technology outputs, at 71st. The profile also says Pakistan has no clusters in the world’s top 100 innovation clusters.
Pillar Ranks
| Pillar | Rank |
|---|---|
| Knowledge and technology outputs | 71st |
| Creative outputs | 76th |
| Business sophistication | 83rd |
| Market sophistication | 99th |
| Infrastructure | 107th |
| Human capital and research | 119th |
| Institutions | 126th |
What the Ranking Means
The result shows that Pakistan gets more out of its limited investment in education, infrastructure and institutions than many countries at similar income levels. It also shows that the gap between inputs and outputs is large, since inputs rank 121st and outputs 72nd. Raising education spending and capital investment would be needed to build on the progress, though the report does not say what policies Pakistan should follow.
Global Picture
- Switzerland is first for the 16th year in a row, followed by Sweden and the United States.
- South Korea is 4th, Singapore 5th and China 10th. China is the only middle-income economy among the leaders, according to Dawn.
- Europe has 14 of the top 25 places.
- No new economy entered the top 15 this year. WIPO described the main signal as continuity.
- WIPO expects global growth to ease from about 3.4% in 2025 to around 3% in 2026, with AI investment the main upside driver, according to Dawn.
What Is Not Covered
- The reports I read do not give Pakistan’s overall score.
- They do not say what the Pakistan government or private sector plan to do next.
- I could not confirm WIPO’s official release date for the 2026 index.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Pakistan’s rank in the Global Innovation Index 2026?
95th out of 139 economies.
How many places did Pakistan climb?
Four, from 99th in 2025.
What does overperformer mean?
It means Pakistan does better on innovation than expected for its income level.
Who publishes the index?
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
What is Pakistan best at?
Mobile app creation, where it ranks 10th, followed by ICT services exports at 15th.
What are its weakest areas?
Education spending, capital formation, private credit and the institutions pillar.
Which countries lead?
Switzerland, Sweden and the United States.
Pakistan’s four-place gain is a sign of progress, but its low input ranks show how much room there is to grow.
