The Global Innovation Index (GII) report is prepared annually in September by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in collaboration with the Portulans Institute (USA), various corporate and academic networks, and the GII Advisory Board. The index is a leading research tool that evaluates the innovation and research performance of countries worldwide. It comprises approximately 80 indicators, organized into two sub-indices and seven thematic pillars.
In the 2025 GII rankings, Uzbekistan was ranked 79th among 139 countries. Within the lower- and middle-income group, Uzbekistan secured 7th place among 37 countries, including Vietnam, Morocco, and Mongolia (10th in 2024). In the Central and South Asia region, Uzbekistan ranked 3rd among 10 countries, following India and Iran (4th in 2024).
Regarding sub-indices, Uzbekistan ranked 69th in innovation inputs and 92nd in innovation outputs.
For context, Uzbekistan joined the GII for the first time in 2015, ranking 122nd out of 141 countries. Since then, the country has steadily improved: 93rd in 2020, 86th in 2021, 82nd in 2022 and 2023, and 83rd out of 132 countries in 2024.
In the 2025 rankings, 78 indicators were evaluated for Uzbekistan. Among them, the country improved in 36 indicators, maintained its 2024 position in 7 indicators, and saw the following notable gains:
Human capital and research: +12 positions
Infrastructure: +1 position
Market sophistication: +4 positions
Knowledge and technology outputs: +10 positions
Institutions: position remained unchanged
To strengthen Uzbekistan’s performance in the 2025 GII, several initiatives were undertaken. Notably, the country ensured comprehensive and timely submission of national data to the relevant databases for all GII indicators, in collaboration with WIPO, the Global Entrepreneurship Research Association, the International Labour Organization, and other international institutions.
In partnership with the Global Entrepreneurship Research Association, a national expert survey was conducted among 36 local experts to form indicators on “Entrepreneurial Policy and Culture” and “Startup and Scale-up Financing.” According to 2025 results, Uzbekistan ranked 3rd and 6th globally for these indicators, reflecting high international performance.
Two national universities – Tashkent Institute of Irrigation and Agricultural Mechanization Engineers and Uzbekistan National University named after Mirzo Ulugbek – also contributed to the GII through their QS World University Rankings results. The indicator “Average score of top 3 QS-ranked universities” improved by 11 positions, reaching 64th place.
According to the “QS World University Rankings 2026,” seven Uzbek universities entered the list of the world’s top universities, marking Uzbekistan among the nine countries participating for the first time by the number of ranked institutions.
The first Uzbek unicorn company, Uzum, was included in the unicorn list by CB Insights, resulting in a 13-position improvement (36th place) in the “Unicorn valuation” indicator.
In total, 35 GII indicators showed positive trends, with the highest improvements in ten indicators, including:
High-tech product imports: 18th (+24)
ISO 9001 quality certificates: 48th (+21)
University enrollment: 61st (+20)
Revenues from intellectual property: 90th (+17)
High-tech exports: 85th (+14)
Startup and scale-up financing: 6th (+13)
New business/unicorn valuation: 36th (+13)
Creative goods exports: 54th (+11)
Average score of top 3 QS-ranked universities: 63rd (+11)
Government expenditure on education (% of GDP): 24th (+10)
It should be noted that according to the “Uzbekistan – 2030” strategy, the country aims to join the Top-50 innovative countries by 2030. While significant progress has been achieved, further measures are being implemented to meet these targets.
