Vietnam's 12-year climb up the global innovation index

It rose from 76th in 2013 to 44th this year, ranking third in ASEAN after Singapore and Malaysia and featuring among the economies with innovation outperforming their development level

Key highlights in GII 2025

According to the report, Vietnam, together with India, has set a record of posting an innovation index surpassing its level of development for 15 consecutive years. Among lower-middle-income countries, Vietnam is second only to India while maintaining its global position of 44th at a time when many regional economies are slowing down.

The Southeast Asian country continues to lead globally in creative goods exports, a position it has shared with four other countries since 2024. This is based on the proportion of handicrafts, musical instruments, recording products, and photos, among others, in the total exports.

Additional strengths include high-tech trade, labor productivity growth, and mobile app innovation, signaling a strong shift towards a knowledge- and technology-based economy.

Sacha Wunsch-Vincent, Senior Economist at the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) and co-editor of the GII report, attributed Vietnam’s achievements to a methodical governance strategy.

Since 2017, the government has treated the GII as a governance tool, regularly introducing measures to improve individual indicators. Vietnam has also localized the index, creating the Provincial Innovation Index (PII), which enables localities to self-assess, fosters competition and connects intellectual property policies with innovation.

Challenges and pathway forward

Despite these gains, the GII 2025 also identifies limitations Vietnam must address, particularly in research and development (R&D) investment, science and technology infrastructure, and the commercialization of intellectual property.

Daren Tang, WIPO's Director General, recommended three priorities: increasing R&D investment as the "source" of innovation, strengthening human capital to convert ideas into products and services, and accelerating the transition from an agriculture- and assembly-based economy to a knowledge-driven one.

He emphasized that intellectual property protection alone is not enough, commercialization must be central, supported by an ecosystem that connects universities, research institutions, and enterprises of all sizes.

One example is an initiative helping students, lecturers, and research institutes bring laboratory innovations to market through spin-off companies. Such efforts act as a bridge to turn intellectual property into an economic driver, in line with a Politburo resolution on making breakthroughs in science–technology development, innovation, and national digital transformation.

Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Manh Hung reaffirmed Vietnam’s goal of breaking into the global top 30 in innovation within the next five to ten years.

To that end, he stressed the need to refine institutional and financial frameworks, expand investment in science, technology, and digital infrastructure, build a high-quality workforce, and foster innovation in enterprises.

The most important shift, he underlined, is moving from "protection of rights" to "assetization, commercialization, and marketization" of research outcomes.

The GII 2025 confirms Vietnam’s long stride, underscoring its role as an innovation model among lower-middle-income economies. Yet, to achieve its ambition of joining the global top 30 and becoming a developed nation, the country must further advance in R&D investment, human resource quality, and the commercialization of intellectual property.