THE Philippines continued to improve its standing in global innovation, with gains in intellectual property, research-industry collaboration, creative exports and high-technology trade pointing to a strengthening innovation ecosystem.
The Philippines ranked 52nd out of 139 economies in the 2026 Global Innovation Index of the World Intellectual Property Organization, remaining in the upper half of the global rankings.
The country ranked 49th in innovation outputs, while innovation inputs placed it 69th. Its output performance indicates that it is generating relatively strong innovation results despite weaker inputs, according to the GII.
The Philippines ranked third among 36 lower-middle-income economies and 11th among 17 economies in Southeast Asia, East Asia and Oceania.
Its Knowledge and Technology Outputs pillar improved to 37th, while Creative Outputs posted the largest gain among the seven pillars, rising six places to 55th.
The country continued to perform strongly in several indicators relevant to trade and business. It ranked fourth globally in high-tech exports, sixth in high-tech imports, 15th in creative goods exports, 18th in ICT services exports and 23rd in high-tech manufacturing.
The Philippines also improved in several intellectual property indicators. Industrial designs by origin rose to 63rd from 73rd in the previous index, while patents by origin improved to 65th from 68th. Patent Cooperation Treaty patents by inventor origin also climbed to 85th from 89th.
University-industry research and development collaboration advanced six places to 17th, highlighting stronger links between academic research and commercial activity.
The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines said the results point to the need to further connect research, intellectual property protection, technology transfer and commercialization.
“Beyond the headline ranking, we see areas where the Philippines is already demonstrating global competitiveness, from utility models and patents to brands, creative goods, high-tech exports and research-industry collaboration,” IPOPHL Director General Teodoro C. Pascua said in a statement.
The country’s creative economy also posted gains. Creative goods exports ranked 15th globally, while global brand value improved three places to 30th. Cultural and creative services exports rose to 90th from 100th, while national feature films and mobile app creation also improved.
IPOPHL said its Innovation and Technology Support Offices network, which has grown to 109 members, is helping universities and research institutions identify, protect and commercialize intellectual property.
The agency said the next step is to expand these gains across the innovation value chain so that more Filipino inventions, brands and creative works can be protected, commercialized and brought to global markets. / KOC