Rabat – Morocco has made significant progress in global innovation, moving up four spots to claim 66th place out of 133 economies in the 2024 Global Innovation Index (GII), published on Thursday in Geneva.
The report, released by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), highlights Morocco’s continued advancement by placing it among the fastest-improving middle-income countries in the rankings since 2013.
The report notes that Morocco’s innovation performance has surpassed expectations for its level of development.
The Kingdom now stands alongside a select group of middle-income nations that have rapidly risen in the GII rankings, including China, India, Indonesia, Iran, the Philippines, Turkey, and Vietnam.
With a score of 28.8 points, Morocco continues to hold its “innovation outperformer” status for the sixth consecutive year. It remains one of only three nations identified by WIPO as having particularly effective innovation ecosystems relative to its level of economic development.
The kingdom has notably strengthened its position in Africa as a regional leader, now ranking second after Mauritius, which is placed 55th globally.
This improvement places Morocco ahead of other regional competitors such as South Africa, ranked 69th, Tunisia in 81st, and Egypt at 86th. Algeria, meanwhile, remains lower in the rankings, occupying 115th place.
Among lower-middle-income countries, Morocco ranks 6th out of 38 economies, trailing behind India, Vietnam, and the Philippines.
This performance reflects Morocco’s growing prominence on the global innovation stage, demonstrating its capacity to compete with larger emerging markets.
The GII evaluates economies across various innovation pillars, and Morocco has shown consistent progress in multiple areas. It ranks 78th in the “Institutions” category, 81st in “Human Capital and Research,” 88th in “Infrastructure,” and 82nd in “Market Sophistication.”
Morocco performed better in “Knowledge and Technology Outputs,” securing 70th place, and achieved 37th in “Creative Outputs.”
Among its most notable achievements this year, Morocco now ranks first globally for industrial designs, a significant improvement from 10th place last year.
The Kingdom also performed well in several other key areas, including education expenditure, intangible asset ratio, gross capital formation, high-tech manufacturing, and trademarks, where it is now ranked among the top 30 globally.
Now in its 17th edition, the GII serves as a global benchmark for tracking innovation trends. It provides valuable insights for policymakers, business leaders, and researchers on how to foster human ingenuity to improve living conditions and address critical challenges such as climate change.
While Morocco’s rise in the rankings is a significant accomplishment, the GII report also highlights other countries making notable progress.
China, which overtook France to take 11th place, remains the only middle-income economy in the top 30. India, Vietnam, and the Philippines are the leading lower-middle-income countries in the rankings.
At the top of the GII 2024, Switzerland retains its position as the world’s most innovative economy, followed by Sweden and the United States. Other high-ranking nations include Singapore, the United Kingdom, and South Korea, which has advanced to 6th place.
