Lithuania has climbed to 32nd place in the 2026 Global Innovation Index (GII), its highest position to date. The country has risen by eight places since 2020, strengthening its standing among the world’s most innovative economies.
Lithuania also ranks first globally in two indicators: employment among women with higher education and the value of unicorn companies relative to the size of the economy.
Among 39 European countries assessed in the Index, Lithuania ranks 20th.
“Lithuania’s rise in the Global Innovation Index confirms that we are consistently moving in the direction we have chosen for the transformation of our economy. By strengthening the country’s innovation potential, we are encouraging business and science to create more high value-added products, which are a key driver of our economic growth.
“Innovation increases business productivity, helps companies compete more actively in global markets, raises Lithuania’s international profile and accelerates the creation of high value-added jobs. This recognition is the result of consistent and systematic efforts to strengthen Lithuania’s innovation ecosystem,” says Minister of the Economy and Innovation Edvinas Grikšas.
Strong performance in technology, entrepreneurship and start-ups
Lithuania’s unicorn value is equivalent to 8.03% of GDP, placing the country first globally on this indicator.
Lithuania also performs strongly in several other areas. It ranks:
- 4th globally for the use of information and communication technologies;
- 6th for entrepreneurship policies and culture;
- 6th for the number of ISO 14001 environmental management system certificates;
- 8th for the number of national feature films;
- 9th for financing for start-ups and scale-ups;
- 9th for mobile app creation.
“Lithuania’s increasingly visible strengths internationally – talent, entrepreneurship and technological capabilities – provide a strong foundation for further growth,” says Dr Monika Paulė, Director of the Innovation Agency.
“The greatest potential lies in connecting these strengths more effectively: helping promising ideas reach the market faster, turning cooperation between science and business into new innovations, and enabling Lithuanian companies to expand more actively internationally. This is how Lithuania’s innovation potential can generate tangible and lasting value for the economy.”
Innovation activity continues to grow
The latest GII data also point to positive momentum across Lithuania’s innovation ecosystem.
In 2024–2025:
- international patent applications increased by 68.2%;
- scientific publications increased by 12.1%;
- venture capital deals increased by 9.5%.
Of the seven areas assessed by the Index, Lithuania performs best in institutional quality, ranking 20th globally.
The country ranks 22nd for infrastructure, 28th for market sophistication and 31st for knowledge and technology outputs.
Areas with further potential
The Index also identifies areas where Lithuania has room to improve.
The country ranks 124th for the demographic potential of young people, 102nd for software expenditure, 76th for high-tech imports and 73rd for intellectual property payments.
Lithuania also has further potential to strengthen knowledge creation and patenting, increase business investment in research and development, deepen cooperation between science and business, and improve the commercialisation of knowledge.
Lithuania continues its rise in global rankings
The Global Innovation Index is published annually by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Based on around 80 indicators, it assesses innovation ecosystems across areas including institutions, human capital, research, infrastructure, markets, business sophistication, and technological and creative outputs.
Switzerland ranked first in the 2026 Index for the 16th consecutive year.
Among the Baltic states, Estonia ranks 17th, Lithuania 32nd and Latvia 40th.
A total of 139 economies are included in the 2026 ranking.
