The European Commission has recently unveiled the results of the European Innovation Scoreboard 2024, highlighting significant strides in Lithuania’s innovation ecosystem. Over the period from 2023 to 2024, Lithuania has demonstrated the highest growth rate in the EU, with an impressive increase of 3.7 percentage points, surpassing the EU average of 0.6%. This marks the highest level of development in Lithuania’s innovation ecosystem to date, reflected by a cumulative innovation index score of 92 points.
“Lithuania’s innovation ecosystem has been growing steadily for many years, and this well reflects in the European Innovation Scoreboard. Our country’s innovation growth is 10% ahead of the EU average. We continue to be on this path with determination, with a number of new funding calls for innovation in the period 2023-2024 alone, which offer an even better growth outlook. We also need to continue investing in strengthening the whole ecosystem, fostering collaboration between science and business, and developing innovative solutions,” stated Aušrinė Armonaitė, Minister for Economy and Innovation.
In the annual Innovation Scoreboard, Lithuania has climbed to the 18th position among EU Member States, surpassing Portugal. From 2017 to 2024, Lithuania has shown consistent progress, culminating in a 16% improvement over this period. Similar advancements are observed in countries such as Belgium and Italy, each with a 15% increase.
The European Commission has identified several business-related indicators as key strengths of Lithuania’s innovation ecosystem. Notably, the venture capital investment rate has surged by 17.3% since 2023, reaching 137.6% of the EU average. Lithuania also exceeds the EU average in non-R&D innovation spending in businesses (172.6%) and trademark applications (136.2% of the EU average).
Lithuania is also ahead of the EU average in the number of enterprises adopting process innovation (105.7%) and the number of employees working in innovative enterprises (113.1% of the EU average). The country remains a leader in the share of the population with tertiary education, standing at 177.7% of the EU average.
Alongside these strengths, the European Innovation Scoreboard 2024 highlights areas for improvement. The export of knowledge-intensive services and business investment in R&D are identified as weaknesses, along with the need to enhance cooperation between business and science. From 2023 onwards, there has been a notable decline in indicators such as firms advancing in product innovation (-42%), innovative firms collaborating with each other (-34.1%), and environmentally related technologies (-16.3%).
Overall, Lithuania’s remarkable progress in its innovation ecosystem, as evidenced by the European Innovation Scoreboard 2024, underscores the country’s commitment to fostering innovation and economic growth. With continued investment and strategic initiatives, Lithuania is well-positioned to further enhance its innovation landscape and maintain its upward trajectory in the EU.
