Denmark has once again ranked among the world’s leading innovation economies. In the newly published Global Innovation Index 2026 (GII) from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Denmark ranks 9th out of 139 economies, maintaining the same position as in 2025.
The Global Innovation Index 2026 (GII) is WIPO’s global benchmark for assessing innovation performance across economies. It consists of roughly 80 indicators grouped into innovation inputs and outputs and is designed to capture the multidimensional nature of innovation.
Stability at the top
The 2026 rankings show a high degree of stability. Switzerland remains the world’s leading innovation economy for the 16th consecutive year, followed by Sweden and the United States. The Republic of Korea and Singapore complete the top five. No new economy entered the top 15 this year. According to WIPO, the most striking feature at the top of the ranking is its stability during a period of major geopolitical and economic turbulence.
Europe accounts for the largest share of the leading group, with 14 European economies among the 25 innovation leaders. Denmark is one of three Nordic economies in the global top ten, alongside Sweden in 2nd place and Finland in 8th.
Signs of renewed innovation investment
Beyond the rankings, WIPO points to a rebound in R&D spending and venture capital funding. Global R&D expenditure is estimated to have grown by more than 3.3% in real terms in 2025 and is projected to increase by 3.6% to USD 3.4 trillion in 2026.
The value of global venture capital funding grew by 28% to USD 510 billion in 2025, its strongest annual increase since 2021. However, investment became increasingly concentrated: AI accounted for 53% of global venture capital deal value in 2025 and 77% in the first half of 2026, while the number of venture capital deals declined for the fourth consecutive year.
WIPO also highlights a new generation of deep-science startups turning frontier research into new industries. Its 2026 thematic chapter maps more than 30,000 startups active across semiconductors, robotics, quantum computing, life sciences, space and advanced materials.
A strong position for Denmark
Denmark ranks 7th in innovation inputs and 11th in innovation outputs, unchanged from 2025. Its highest-ranked GII areas are institutions, where it ranks 2nd, infrastructure, where it ranks 7th, and creative outputs, where it ranks 9th. According to WIPO, Denmark performs above both the European regional average and the high-income-group average across all seven GII pillars.
The 2026 results therefore place Denmark firmly within the group of the world’s ten highest-ranked innovation economies.
Source: Global Innovation Index 2026