Philippines climbs to 50th in 2025 Global Innovation Index
29 September 2025
The Philippines has advanced its position in the Global Innovation Index (GII), securing the 50th spot among 139 economies in the 2025 report published by the World Intellectual Property Organization. This new ranking reflects steady improvement from its 53rd-place finish in 2024 and 56th in 2023, underscoring its growing innovation capabilities.
In the report’s sub-indices, the Philippines placed 59th in innovation inputs and 49th in innovation outputs, both improvements from the previous year. Among its peers, the Philippines ranked third highest out of 37 lower middle-income economies and 11th among the 17 economies evaluated in Southeast Asia, East Asia and Oceania.
“The GII shows the Philippines as a top innovative economy, climbing the rankings steadily. We examine where we stand today and where we are headed to make innovation a true driver of inclusive and sustainable growth,” said Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) Director General Brigitte da Costa-Villaluz in a statement.
She expressed optimism that new policies, such as the establishment of a registry for well-known marks, will help sustain the Philippines’ strong performance and boost brand protection and business opportunities locally and abroad.
Strengths and weaknesses
The GII report highlighted the Philippines’ key strengths:
- Knowledge and Technology Outputs (ranked 38th)
- Business Sophistication (ranked 40th)
The Philippines was a global leader in specific indicators, with high-tech exports as a percentage of total trade (1st), high-tech imports as a percentage of total trade (4th), and utility models by origin (7th). A notable sign of progress was the reported 350 percent surge in international patent filings between 2023 and 2024.
At the same time, the report pointed out areas for improvement:
- Institutions (ranked 61st)
- Creative Outputs (ranked 61st)
- Infrastructure (ranked 65th)
- Human Capital and Research (ranked 90th)
To address these gaps and maintain its ranking, Da Costa-Villaluz noted that IPOPHL has implemented programmes to widen IP awareness and deepen innovation capacity, particularly among the youth, creative and underserved sectors.
The GII report utilized roughly 80 indicators, grouped into innovation inputs and outputs, “to capture the multidimensional facets of innovation.”
According to the report, it measures factors including institutions, human capital and research infrastructure, investment and linkages, and the creation, absorption and diffusion of knowledge and creative outputs.
- Excel V. Dyquiangco
