The GII 2025 places Iran 70th overall among 139 economies, yet the country scores strongly in several pillars—8th for domestic market size and 14th for patents relative to GDP with robust knowledge impact and high-tech import shares.
Tehran: Iran recorded notable strengths in the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2025, ranking 8th worldwide in domestic market size and 14th in patents relative to GDP, according to the latest WIPO-backed report assessing 139 countries.
At the national launch of the GII findings, Amir-Abbas Mohammadi Koushki, UN Innovation Committee expert and head of Iran’s national team for inventions and innovation, said Iran stands 70th overall. The country’s ranking shows a gap between innovation inputs (109th) and outputs (46th)—indicating solid creation of results despite structural weaknesses in the enabling environment.
Iran, with a population of 91.6 million and GDP (PPP) of about $1.6985 trillion—roughly $19,606 per capita—falls within the upper-middle income group. It ranks 17th of 36 economies in that income tier and 2nd among the ten largest economies in Central and South Asia.
The 18th edition of the index, themed “Innovation at a Crossroads,” highlights slower global momentum in R&D and venture capital after a decade of rapid growth. Corporate R&D spending reached a record $1.3 trillion in 2024, but growth was only 3.2% (≈1% in real terms). VC deal value rose 7.7%, led by the U.S. and AI, while the number of deals fell 4.4%. International patent filings ticked up 0.5% in 2024 after a dip in 2023; scientific publications hit a new high of around 2 million papers.
Technological indicators show rising efficiency of top supercomputers (+65% in 2024), a ~20% drop in lithium-ion battery prices to $115/kWh, and a ~90% fall in solar electricity costs since 2010. Adoption trends include a global EV stock up by 18 million vehicles (+45%), 5G coverage reaching 50% of the world’s population, and fixed high-speed broadband at 58 subscriptions per 100 people.
Experts say these results underscore Iran’s strong knowledge and patent output, while highlighting the need to improve inputs financing, regulation, and institutional capacity to convert scale into broader innovation performance. Recommended actions include embedding innovation in whole-of-government policy, expanding public–private collaboration, setting measurable targets, strengthening innovation statistics, and diversifying VC financing across regions and sectors beyond AI.