Vietnam rose 2 places, ranking 44/133 countries and economies in the Global Innovation Index.

Up 2 places on the Global Innovation Index

According to the Global Innovation Index Report, Vietnam is ranked 44/133 countries and economies, up 2 places compared to 2023. Vietnam continues to improve its innovation input ranking, up 4 places compared to 2023, from 57th to 53rd (innovation input includes 5 pillars: Institutions, Human resources and research, Infrastructure, Market development level, Enterprise development level). Innovation output increases 4 places compared to 2023, from 40th to 36th (innovation output includes 2 pillars: Knowledge and technology products, Creative products).

Vietnam maintains its 2nd position in the group of lower middle-income countries. The lower middle-income country ranked above Vietnam is India at 39th. In addition, there are 5 upper middle-income countries ranked above Vietnam (China ranked 11th, Malaysia ranked 33rd, Turkey ranked 37th, Bulgaria ranked 38th and Thailand ranked 41st), the rest of the countries ranked above Vietnam are all industrially developed countries, belonging to the high-income group. In the ASEAN region, Vietnam ranks 4th (after: Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand).

In the WIPO GII 2024 Report, Vietnam was recognized by WIPO as one of the eight middle-income countries that improved their rankings the most since 2013 (including: China, Turkey, India, Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia, Iran and Morocco). Vietnam is also one of the three countries that hold the record for outstanding achievements compared to their development level for 14 consecutive years (including: India, Moldova and Vietnam).

For 14 consecutive years, Vietnam has consistently had higher innovation outcomes than its level of development, demonstrating its efficiency in converting resource inputs into innovation outputs. Vietnam’s pillar scores are higher than those of lower-middle-income countries and even higher than those of upper-middle-income countries, except for pillar 2 on Human Resources and Research.

Some notable improvements

In 2024, Vietnam will have 3 leading indicators in the world: High-tech imports, High-tech exports and Creative goods exports. There are 3 indicators in the top 10 countries in the world: Labor productivity growth rate (ranked 3rd); Number of smartphone applications created (ranked 7th) and R&D expenditure covered by enterprises/total R&D expenditure (ranked 9th).

In terms of infrastructure (Pillar 3), in 2024, Vietnam ranked 56th, up 14 places from 70th in 2023. This result was achieved due to WIPO changing its methodology, accordingly, WIPO removed the index: Environmental quality (according to Yale University's assessment) in which Vietnam has always had a low ranking for many years (ranked 130 in 2023), instead using a new index: Rate of use of low-carbon energy sources (%). This index in GII 2024, Vietnam reached 26.8%, ranked 46th. Two other energy indexes in this pillar also had positive improvements: the Electricity output index, GWh/million people, up 5 places from 75th in 2023 to 70th and the GDP/unit of energy used index up 4 places from 72nd to 68th.

Progress in Vietnam's GII ranking over the years 2017-2024.

Regarding Market Development Level (Pillar 4), in 2024, Vietnam will rank 43rd, up 6 places from 49th in 2023. In this pillar, the most positive improvement index is Number of deals made by venture capitalists/PPP$GDP with an increase of 10 places compared to 2023, currently ranked 50th. The Domestic Credit Index for the Private Sector, % of GDP, increased 6 places to 15th place, this index is considered by WIPO as one of Vietnam's strengths. In addition, there are two indexes that improved by 3 places: Market capitalization of listed companies (% of GDP) from 36th to 33rd place; The index of Number of deals receiving venture capital/billion PPP$GDP continues to increase, from 54th in 2021 to 48th in 2022 and 47th in 2023, and continues to increase 3 places to 44th in 2024.

Regarding the level of business development (Pillar 5), in 2024, Vietnam will rank 46th, up 3 places compared to 2023. The strongest point is still the High-tech Import Index (% of total trade), up 3 places, returning to the leading position in the world (rank 1). The Royalty Payment Index, % of total trade, increased 5 places from 85th in 2023 to 80th. In addition, the indexes in the Creative Link index group all have positive improvements, contributing to the increase in the ranking of this index group from 43rd in 2023, up 2 places to 41st.

Regarding the output of Knowledge and Technology Products (Pillar 6), in 2024, Vietnam ranked 44th, up 4 places compared to 2023. Of which, two indexes continue to be Vietnam's strengths: High-tech Export Index (% of total trade) ranked first in the world after ranking 3rd in 2023; Labor Productivity Growth Rate Index (GDP/worker) ranked 3rd, up 1 place compared to 2023.

In addition, this pillar has some indicators with remarkable improvements as follows:

The Index of Utility Solution Applications by Country of Origin/billion $PPP GDP increased 5 places, ranked 34th.

The Unicorn Valuation Index (% of GDP) increased by 2 places, ranking 31st. Vietnam currently has 2 unicorn companies recognized by WIPO, with a valuation of 1.1% of GDP.

The High-Tech Industry Output Index (% of total manufacturing output) increased by 10 places, ranking 28th. Vietnam's high-tech industry output accounts for an increasingly high proportion of total manufacturing output. This index will reach 29.9% in 2022, ranking 44th, and 38.3% in 2024, ranking 28th.

Although the ICT Services Export Index is still low in ranking, it has increased by 20 places, from 115th in 2023 to 95th.

Regarding Creative Product Output (Pillar 7), in 2024, Vietnam will increase by 2 places from 36th in 2023 to 34th. In particular, the Creative Products and Services index group is a bright spot with a sharp increase of 11 places, from 29th in 2023 to 18th. This improvement is mainly due to the Creative Product Export Index (% of total trade) ranking first in the world for the first time, increasing by 6 places, from 7th in 2023 to the leading position. In addition, the Cultural and Creative Services Export Index, although still low in rank, has increased by 6 places from 87th in 2023 to 81st.

Some indicators have not improved or are still at low rankings and need further attention.

Institutional issues still need much improvement to facilitate socio-economic development based on science, technology and innovation. The Law Enforcement Effectiveness Index has not improved, ranking 72 as in 2023 (although the score has improved, the improvement is not as good as other countries). The Quality of Legal Regulations Index, after improving 10 places from 93 to 83 in 2022, will drop to 94 in 2023 and continue to drop 1 place to 95 in 2024.

Regarding Education and Higher Education (two indicators in Pillar 2. Human Capital and Research), apart from the Tertiary Enrollment Rate Index, which increased by 5 places to 78th place, the remaining indicators in these two indicator groups have not improved. The PISA score for reading, mathematics and science dropped by 20 places from 83rd place; the Science and Engineering Graduate Rate Index dropped by 4 places, from 59th to 63rd place. The two indicators of Public Expenditure per Secondary Student and Expected Years of Schooling are still not available. The Foreign Student Domestic Study Rate Index continues to be low and dropped from 103rd to 105th place.

The ICT Infrastructure Index has not had any significant changes. In 2021, this index group ranked 79th, in 2022 it improved by 9 places, ranked 70, but in 2023 and 2024 it dropped to 71st and 72nd. Of which, the ICT Access Index in 2022 and 2023 ranked 41st and 40th, but in 2024 it dropped by 35 places, ranked 75th. The Government Online Services Index is still ranked 75th, the Online Participation Index is still ranked 71st as in 2023 (data for these two indexes are the results of a survey every 2 years). In addition, regarding ICT, the ICT Service Import Index (% of total trade transactions) is also very low, has not improved, ranked 127th in 2023, ranked 129th in 2024.

Although the energy and ecological environment indicators have improved compared to 2023, they are still ranked low (Electricity output index, GWh/million people ranked 70; GDP index/unit of energy used ranked 68). The index of ISO 14001 certificates/billion PPP GDP decreased by 6 places compared to 2023, currently ranked 49.

Regarding Trade, Diversification and Market Size, there are two indicators with a huge decline in 2024 that need special attention: The Weighted Average Tariff Rate/All Products Index decreased by 31 places from 17th to 48th; The Diversity of Domestic Production Index decreased by 16 places from 7th to 23rd.

The Knowledge Workers Index group has not improved and has tended to continuously decrease in rank from 2020 to present. In 2020, this index group ranked 63rd, in 2021 ranked 68th, in 2022 ranked 75th and in 2024 continued to decrease by 9 ranks, ranked 84th. In particular, the Employment Index in knowledge-intensive industries (% of total employment) is always low, ranked 109th in 2024 (with a rate of 10.4%, improved compared to 2023 but still very low). The Index of the Rate of Enterprises with Formal Training (%) in 2024 is 8.7%, down 26 ranks, ranked 97th. The Index of Female Workers with High Technical Qualifications (% of total workers) in 2024 accounts for 7.5%, ranked 88th.

Regarding Knowledge and Technology Products, the Knowledge Creation Index group ranked 84, down 4 places compared to 2023, of which notable indexes include: Patent Applications Index by Country of Origin, over $1 billion PPP GDP ranked 68, down 8 places; PCT Patent Applications Index, over $1 billion PPP GDP ranked 91, down 3 places; Number of Scientific and Technical Articles Published Index (PPP$GDP) ranked 97, unchanged compared to 2023.

Regarding Creative Products, the creative industry has shown positive signs, but is still ranked low or has not improved positively. Some low-ranking indicators that need to be improved include: Intangible Asset Density Index ranked 57, down 19 places compared to 2023; Cultural and Creative Services Export Index (% of total trade) ranked 81 (up 6 places compared to 2023); National Feature Film Index produced/1 million people aged 15-69 ranked 76 (up 1 place compared to 2023); gTLD Domain Name Rate Index/1 thousand people aged 15-69 ranked 76 (down 3 places compared to 2023).

In GII 2024, Vietnam still has 3 indicators without data and 12 indicators using outdated data.

Source: https://nhandan.vn/viet-nam-tang-2-bac-xep-hang-44133-quoc-gia-nen-kinh-ve-chi-so-doi-moi-sang-tao-toan-cau-post833357.html