The Philippines ranked 52nd out of 139 economies in the Global Innovation Index 2026, slipping two places from last year, according to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the United Nations’ intellectual property agency..
The country’s ranking for innovation inputs fell to 69th from 59th in 2025. Its innovation outputs stayed at 49th, meaning its results continued to rank higher than the resources and conditions supporting innovation.
The index uses roughly 80 indicators to assess economies’ innovation capabilities. It groups these measures into inputs and outputs to show both the support available for innovation and the results produced.
Technology trade stood out among the Philippines’ strengths. The country ranked fourth for high-tech exports and sixth for high-tech imports, both measured as a share of total trade.
It also placed 18th for information and communications technology services exports as a share of trade, and 23rd for high-tech manufacturing.
The Philippines ranked 17th for research and development projects involving universities and businesses. It also placed 15th for creative goods exports as a share of total trade.
However, WIPO identified several weaker areas. The country ranked 133rd for scientific and technical articles relative to the size of its economy, and 112th for the number of students per secondary school teacher.
It placed 92nd for venture capital deals received relative to economic size. Venture capital is funding provided to businesses with growth potential.
Among its peers, the Philippines ranked third out of 36 lower-middle-income economies. It placed 11th among 17 economies in Southeast Asia, East Asia, and Oceania.
The overall ranking remained better than its 53rd-place position in 2024 and 59th in 2022.
WIPO cautioned that changes in available data and the index’s framework affect comparisons between years. It estimated that the Philippines’ 2026 ranking falls within a range of 49th to 53rd when statistical uncertainty is considered.