Muscat – Oman has made a significant leap – up ten places – in the Global Innovation Index 2023 issued by the World Intellectual Property Organization.

Currently, Oman holds the 69th position among 132 economies assessed for their innovation capabilities. This upward movement highlights the nation’s concerted efforts to enhance innovation across various sectors.

Regionally, Oman ranks tenth among 18 economies assessed in Northern Africa and Western Asia. It shows its strongest performance in human capital and research, infrastructure and institutions, with global rankings of 52nd, 61st and 62nd respectively. However, room for improvement exists, particularly in business sophistication, creative outputs, and knowledge and technology outputs, where Oman ranks 95th, 79th and 75th respectively.

Notably, Oman marked its position among the top 20 countries globally in five sub-indices. It stood second in the percentage of science and engineering graduates, ninth in government spending per student, 16th in availability of information and communication systems technologies, and 19th in both business enabler policies and work productivity sub-indices.

A substantial 93-place jump in the work productivity sub-index is a testament to Oman’s ongoing developmental strides.

For the 13th year in a row, Switzerland is the most innovative economy in 2023 followed by Sweden, the United States, the United Kingdom and Singapore.

H E Dr Saif bin Abdullah al Haddabi, Undersecretary for Scientific Research and Innovation in the Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation and Head of the National Team to Improve Oman’s Performance in the Global Innovation Index, confirmed that the substantial jump was the result of joint efforts between various national institutions and programmes dedicated to enhancing innovation indicators.

He elaborated that the team initiated concerted efforts following the release of the innovation report last year.