Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Daren Tang visits an exhibition of innovative products by students at the Posts and Telecommunications Institute of Technology. (Photo: hanoimoi.vn)
Within just 12 years, Vietnam has climbed from the 76th place in 2013 to the group of economies with innovation outperforming their development level, which highlights the country’s sustained efforts but also points out challenges that lie ahead.
Vietnam has retained the 44th place among the 139 economies in the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2025, ranking third in ASEAN after Singapore and Malaysia.
Key highlights in GII 2025
According to the report, Vietnam, together with India, has set a record of posting an innovation index surpassing its level of development for 15 consecutive years. Among lower-middle-income countries, Vietnam is second only to India while maintaining its global position of 44th at a time when many regional economies are slowing down.
The Southeast Asian country continues to lead globally in creative goods exports, a position it has shared with four other countries since 2024. This is calculated basing on the proportion of handicrafts, musical instruments, recording products, and photos, among others in the total exports.
Additional strengths include high-tech trade, labour productivity growth, and mobile app innovation, signalling a strong shift towards a knowledge- and technology-based economy.
Sacha Wunsch-Vincent, Senior Economist at the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) and co-editor of the GII report, attributed Vietnam’s achievements to a methodical governance strategy. Since 2017, the Government has treated the GII as a governance tool, regularly introducing measures to improve individual indicators. Vietnam has also localised the index into the Provincial Innovation Index (PII), enabling localities to self-assess, foster competition, and connect intellectual property policies with innovation.
Challenges and pathway forward
Despite these gains, the GII 2025 also identifies limitations Vietnam must address, particularly in research and development (R&D) investment, science and technology infrastructure, and the commercialisation of intellectual property.
WIPO Director General Daren Tang recommended three priorities: increasing R&D investment as the “source” of innovation, strengthening human capital to convert ideas into products and services, and accelerating the transition from an agriculture- and assembly-based economy to a knowledge-driven one. He emphasised that intellectual property protection alone is not enough, commercialisation must be central, supported by an ecosystem that connect universities, research institutions, and enterprises of all sizes.
One example is an initiative helping students, lecturers, and research institutes bring laboratory innovations to market through spin-off companies. Such efforts act as a bridge to turn intellectual property into an economic driver, in line with the Politburo's Resolution 57-NQ/TW on making breakthroughs in science – technology development, innovation, and national digital transformation.
Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Manh Hung reaffirmed Vietnam’s goal of breaking into the global top 30 in innovation within the next five to ten years. To that end, he stressed the need to refine institutional and financial frameworks, expand investment in science, technology, and digital infrastructure, build a high-quality workforce, and foster innovation in enterprises.
The most important shift, he underlined, is moving from “protection of rights” to “assetisation, commercialisation, and marketisation” of research outcomes.
The GII 2025 confirms Vietnam’s long stride, underscoring its role as an innovation model among lower-middle-income economies. Yet, to achieve its ambition of joining the global top 30 and becoming a developed nation, the country must further advance in R&D investment, human resource quality, and the commercialisation of intellectual property./.
