Hong Kong rises to 14th in Global Innovation Index.

On September 29, in the 2026 Global Innovation Index published by the World Intellectual Property Organization, Hong Kong rose one place to 14th among 139 economies worldwide, maintaining fifth place in Asia. Among the two sub-indices under the Innovation Index, Hong Kong maintained its global ranking of eighth in "Innovation Input" and rose one place to 21st in "Innovation Output." Under "Innovation Input," Hong Kong scored above the average of high-income economies in all five pillars, with "Market Sophistication" ranking second globally, while "Human Capital and Research," "Institutions," and "Infrastructure" rose to sixth, seventh, and 11th globally respectively. As for sub-pillars, Hong Kong continued to rank first globally in "Credit"; it also entered the global top 10 in multiple areas, including "Higher Education" (third), "Information and Communication Technologies" (fourth), "Investment" (fourth), "Institutional Environment" (ninth), and "Business Environment" (10th). Data also showed that Hong Kong's total R&D expenditure and number of researchers continued to rise. As for Hong Kong's "Creative Output" pillar under "Innovation Output," its ranking rose two places to 15th globally; the "Knowledge and Technology Output" pillar rose one more place to 29th. Data also showed that Hong Kong's number of patents and mobile application creation continued to rise. A spokesman for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government said today: "We are pleased to see Hong Kong's good progress in the Innovation Index. Accelerating the development of innovation and technology is a policy priority of the current-term Government. The Government is fully committed to promoting Hong Kong's development into an international I&T center along the direction set out in the First Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (2026-2030) (the First Five-Year Plan for Hong Kong). Among other things, Hong Kong will optimize the I&T development system, accelerate alignment with the country's key science and technology strategies, and build a new landscape of 'three major I&T parks and five major research institutions.' In particular, the Hong Kong Park of the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone will form a coordinated upstream, midstream, and downstream development with the San Tin Technopole, jointly building a complete industrial ecosystem covering R&D, transformation, pilot testing, and mass production. Hong Kong will also advance new industrialization in light of local conditions, build a new industrialization industry development system with Hong Kong characteristics, and comprehensively promote the 'Artificial Intelligence Plus (AI+)' action, enhance computing infrastructure, and accelerate the adoption of AI by small and medium-sized enterprises, so as to empower all industries with AI technology. "At the same time, Hong Kong will give full play to its advantages of connecting the mainland with the world, build an international hub for science and technology cooperation, and deepen the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, gathering global I&T resources and talent. The HKSAR Government will strive to lead Hong Kong in realizing the vision set out in the First Five-Year Plan for Hong Kong of basically establishing an international I&T center by 2030 that is rooted in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, radiates across the country, and connects with the world." The Innovation Index is a ranking of the innovation capabilities and outcomes of economies around the world. Its assessment criteria include multiple aspects such as institutions, human capital and research infrastructure, credit, investment, collaboration, and the creation, absorption, and dissemination of knowledge, as well as creative output. The Innovation Index includes two sub-indices: "Innovation Input" and "Innovation Output." Under "Innovation Input" there are five pillars, namely "Institutions," "Human Capital and Research," "Infrastructure," "Market Sophistication," and "Business Sophistication"; "Innovation Output" includes two pillars, "Knowledge and Technology Output" and "Creative Output." Each of the above pillars is further divided into three sub-pillars.