Britain slipping in global innovation rankings.

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 What the data show

Global Innovation Index (GII) ranking

  • According to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Global Innovation Index 2025, the UK is ranked 6th among 139 economies. (WIPO)
  • The UK ranked 5th in 2024. (inngot.com)
  • So, the UK has dropped at least one place this year (and has shown a downward trend in recent years) relative to some peer countries. (Logistics Manager)
  • On the UK’s innovation “inputs” (such as R&D spending, education, infrastructure) it ranks 10th in 2025. On “outputs” (such as patents, commercialisation) it ranks 4th. (WIPO)

Broader indicators of decline

  • A report by Make UK (with Sage) highlights the UK’s drop in innovation ranking from 2nd in 2015 to 4th in 2020, then 5th in 2024. Also shows the UK is 24th globally in industrial robots per 10,000 manufacturing workers — lagging many peers. (Logistics Manager)
  • In corporate R&D investment, the number of UK companies among the world’s top 2,000 R&D-spenders shrank from 118 in 2013 to 63 in 2023. (Cambridge Industrial Innovation Policy)
  • On industrial competitiveness & manufacturing: the UK’s share of global manufacturing value added fell from 3.1% in 2000 to 1.9% in 2022; its global export share dropped from 3.7% to 1.5%. (Cambridge Industrial Innovation Policy)

Sector-specific warning signs

  • In life sciences: The UK slipped in global pharma research and investment rankings, raising concerns about its standing in the “global life sciences economy.” (abpi.org.uk)
  • Higher education: Top UK universities have fallen in global rankings; universities report budget pressures, international student declines, and investment cuts. (CNBC)

 Why is this happening?

Here are the key contributing causes, drawn from the sources:

  1. Slowing R&D investment
  2. Relative slide in manufacturing & advanced industries
    • The UK has lost ground in manufacturing, especially in high-value industries, which are engines for innovation. (Cambridge Industrial Innovation Policy)
    • Low “robotics density” and slower adoption of automation/next-gen manufacturing technologies hamper productivity and therefore innovation. (The Times)
  3. Global competition accelerating
    • While the UK remains strong, other countries are moving faster: for example, China moved into the GII top 10 for the first time. (WIPO)
    • Other countries are investing heavily in eco-systems (VC, universities, start-ups, industry collaborations) such that the UK’s relative position is weakening even if its absolute performance is still strong. (CNBC)
  4. Weak commercialisation and scale-up
    • The UK is good at producing high-quality research, but less good at turning that into commercial enterprises or wider economic impact. (Reddie & Grose)
    • Venture capital and scale-ups are more concentrated in the US, China and parts of Asia, meaning the UK may lose “home-grown” innovative firms or they relocate. (CNBC)
  5. Fragmentation and lack of unified ecosystem support
    • Reports from Make UK and others argue that SME support, access to funding/training, innovation adoption are fragmented, making it harder for UK firms to adopt and scale innovation quickly. (The Times)

 What does this mean? Implications

  • Competitive risk: If the UK continues to lose ground, it may find it harder to lead emerging sectors (AI, biotech, advanced manufacturing) globally, which could impact long-term growth and economic resilience.
  • Talent & investment flows: Reduced attractiveness for foreign investment or for global‐scale start-ups may result. Universities losing ground in rankings may struggle to attract international students/faculty—affecting innovation ecosystems.
  • Productivity & industry transformation: Innovation is a key driver of productivity growth. Slippage in manufacturing/advanced industries and tech adoption may hamper UK’s productivity revival.
  • Policy urgency: Many of the reports frame this as a “wake-up call” for policy-makers: if the UK is to rebound, it needs coherent, large-scale strategy, faster action, not just incremental change.
  • Regional and cluster dimension: The fact that the UK still has strong clusters (e.g., London, Cambridge, Oxford) is positive, but the rest of the country may lag—leading to regional imbalance in innovation and growth. (Knight Frank UK)

 Bright spots (so it’s not all bad)

  • The UK still ranks very highly globally (6th overall) which means the baseline is strong.
  • The UK performs especially well on “outputs” of innovation (e.g., quality of scientific research, patenting intensity) compared to “inputs”. (WIPO)
  • The UK has multiple top-global innovation clusters: London, Cambridge, Oxford, Manchester. These clusters show potential for concentrated excellence. (Reddie & Grose)
  • There is awareness of the challenge and policy discourse is active (“industrial strategy”, “innovation strategy” are talked about).

 Key numbers summary

Metric UK performance / trend
GII 2025 global rank 6th among 139 economies. (WIPO)
GII 2024 global rank 5th (so one place slip) (inngot.com)
Innovation inputs ranking (2025) 10th place. (WIPO)
Innovation outputs ranking (2025) 4th place. (Reddie & Grose)
UK industrial robots density ~112 robots per 10,000 manufacturing workers → about half the EU average. (The Times)
UK major R&D-investing firms count (top 2,000 globally) Down from 118 (2013) to 63 (2023). (Financial Times)

 What to watch / policy levers

  • Increasing private sector R&D investment: The UK needs to reverse the fall in major firms’ R&D spend and attract/retain innovative corporations.
  • Strengthening commercialisation & scale-up mechanisms: Supporting start-ups, enabling them to grow, generate global impact and remain in the UK.
  • Accelerating technology adoption (robotics, automation, AI) especially across SMEs and manufacturing.
  • Supporting regional innovation ecosystems, not just the top clusters, to avoid concentration and unlock broader potential.
  • Ensuring skilled talent flows (domestic and international), and maintaining attractiveness for universities and research centres.
  • Sustained public investment and coherent long-term strategy, avoiding stop-go policy cycles.
  • Here are some case-studies and comments illustrating how and why the United Kingdom is slipping in global innovation rankings — and what that means.

     Case Studies

    Case 1: Business Innovation Rates Fall

    • According to UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), in 2024 fewer businesses reported making product or service innovations than in previous years: 56 % of UK businesses reported changes to products or services in 2024, down from 61 % in 2023. (UK Research and Innovation)
    • The same report says nearly half (46 %) of innovating businesses reported that barriers constrained their innovation activity. The most-common barrier: cost‐of‐doing‐business pressures. (UK Research and Innovation)
    • Interpretation: Innovation input may still be strong (research, infrastructure), but innovation activity/output in businesses is weakening — which helps explain the UK’s drop in innovation rankings.

    Case 2: Life-Sciences / Healthcare Innovation Lagging

    • In a report by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) on the UK health-innovation ecosystem:
      • The UK has slipped from 3rd to 5th in global clinical-trial activity between 2015 and 2024. (BCG)
      • Between 2020-2023 only ~65 % of patient-approved EU medicines were available in England, vs ~90 % in Germany. (BCG)
    • Interpretation: While the UK may generate strong research, translation into patient-impact and commercialised products is weakening — reducing the output dimension of innovation.

    Case 3: Corporate R&D and Scale-up Weakness

    • A report by Cambridge Industrial Innovation Policy (CIIP) shows the number of UK companies among the top 2,000 global R&D investors nearly halved from 118 (2013) to 63 (2023). (Cambridge Industrial Innovation Policy)
    • The same study notes the UK government’s direct funding for R&D (as a % of GDP) is below OECD average (0.56% vs ~0.62%). (Cambridge Industrial Innovation Policy)
    • Interpretation: The UK is falling behind in having large, high-R&D firms anchored domestically; this reduces the “scale-up” leg of innovation (not just research start-ups, but global firms based in Britain).

    Case 4: University-Industry Collaboration Declining

    • According to a report by National Centre for Universities & Business (NCUB), collaborations between UK universities and businesses declined by ~5 % in 2023 (large firms’ interactions down ~8.8 %). (The Times)
    • Interpretation: This affects the “knowledge-to-market” pipeline. If universities and industry collaborate less, fewer innovations are commercialised, restraining outputs and limiting the UK’s innovation performance.

     Key Comments & Stakeholder Perspectives

    • Graeme Malcolm (CEO of a Scottish tech company) wrote:

      “Reducing funding at any point will shrink the pool of companies with the potential to grow into significant economic contributors.” (Financial Times)
      He highlights that mid-sized companies (“£10m to £100m revenue”) are pivotal, but at risk of neglect.

    • From the life-sciences sector:
      • Roz Bekker (MD UK & Ireland, Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine) said:

        “The UK is falling behind similar countries in how it values innovative medicines … the UK’s global competitiveness, economic growth and most importantly, patient health outcomes, are at risk.” (abpi.org.uk)

      • Johan Kahlström (Country President, Novartis UK & Ireland) added:

        “Ambition alone is not enough. The UK invests significantly less in medicines than our European peers … Without bold action … the UK risks falling further behind in innovation, patient outcomes and global competitiveness.” (abpi.org.uk)

    • From the education/innovation ecosystem:

      “The sector faces significant challenges … intensifying global competition, declining research funding, and difficulties in improving metrics such as faculty-student ratio and internationalisation.” — Sankar Sivarajah, Head of Kingston Business School, on UK universities. (CNBC)

    • A warning from the think-tank side:
      The Tony Blair Institute for Global Change said the UK risks becoming a “launchpad” for global tech giants rather than the home of global leaders, due to risk-averse investment culture, visa restrictions, and insufficient support for high-growth firms. (The Times)

     What can we draw from these?

    • The UK remains strong in research and foundational science (input side) but is underperforming in commercialisation, scale-up, industry connection, and getting innovations out to market.
    • Multiple structural barriers: funding downturns or slower growth, weaker business-led innovation, skill/people constraints, weaker university-industry linkages, regulatory/investment environment not as supportive as rivals.
    • The slip in global innovation rankings isn’t just about one metric; it reflects multiple inter-related weaknesses: translation of research, scale of firms, global competition (especially from US/China/Asia), and ecosystems not evolving quickly enough.

     

Categories: GB News, UK News