Cairo:Egypt moved up three places to 83rd in the 2026 Global Innovation Index, improving from its 86th position in the years 2023, 2024, and 2025.

According to State Information Service Egypt, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) highlighted Egypt's large domestic market, strong research base, universities, and research talent as significant factors contributing to this advancement in innovation.

Egypt was ranked 18th globally for domestic market size and 27th for economic diversification. It also secured the 40th position for research talent, 44th for citable documents, 48th for university quality, and 54th for the number of researchers. The country allocates slightly more than 1% of its GDP to research and development, and it has seen improvements in several innovation, manufacturing, and high-tech export indicators. Additionally, net foreign direct investment inflows have increased, placing Egypt 22nd globally.

Notably, Egypt was one of 34 economies worldwide with an innovation cluster and was the only African country on the list. The Greater Cairo innovation cluster was ranked among the world's top 100.

The rise in Egypt's ranking reflects its ongoing efforts to enhance higher education and research, support innovation, develop research talent, and connect research with economic development. The Global Innovation Index evaluates countries' innovation capabilities across various domains, including research and development, education, human capital, investment, knowledge and technology, and innovation outputs.