ISLAMABAD: Pakistan ranks 99th among the 132 economies featured in the Global Innovation Index (GII), which classifies world economies according to their innovation capabilities, Arab News reported.

Consisting of roughly 80 indicators, grouped into innovation inputs and outputs, the GII aims to capture the multi-dimensional facets of innovation.

The GII is published by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), a specialised agency of the United Nations.

Recognising that innovation is a key driver of economic development, the GII aims to provide an innovation ranking and rich analysis referencing around 130 economies. Over the last decade, the GII has established itself as both a leading reference on innovation and a “tool for action” for economies that incorporate the GII into their innovation agendas.

Pakistan’s ranking on the index was 107 in 2020 and 105 in 2019.

“Pakistan ranks 17th among the 34 lower middle-income group economies,” the GII report said. “Pakistan ranks 7th among the 10 economies in Central and Southern Asia.”

The report said that Pakistan has performed above the lower middle-income group average in four pillars, namely: institutions, business sophistication, knowledge and technology outputs, and creative outputs. In Central and Southern Asia, Pakistan performed above the regional average in the same four pillars.

The index is a ranking of the innovation capabilities and results of world economies. It measures innovation based on criteria that include institutions, human capital and research, infrastructure, credit, investment, linkages; the creation, absorption and diffusion of knowledge and creative outputs.