European innovation continues to gather momentum, with the European Union posting its strongest performance in years, according to the latest European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS) published by the European Commission.
The report shows the EU’s overall innovation score has increased by 11.6 percentage points since 2019, highlighting sustained progress despite growing global competition.
The annual assessment reveals that innovation performance across the bloc improved by a further 1.7 percentage points between 2025 and 2026, accelerating from the 0.5-point increase recorded the previous year. While every EU Member State has advanced, the pace of progress differs considerably across the continent.
The findings reinforce the EU’s long-term strategy to strengthen research, technology and entrepreneurship while narrowing the gap with leading global competitors.
The results will also help shape future policy initiatives aimed at boosting startups, scaling innovative businesses and supporting research excellence across Europe.
Commenting on the report, Ekaterina Zaharieva, Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation, said: “Europe’s innovation engine has proved resilient. Every single Member State has improved its performance since 2019, and this year’s Scoreboard shows that growth is picking up again.
“But the global race is ever tougher and we cannot afford to slow down. The Startup and Scaleup Strategy, EU Inc. and the upcoming European Innovation Act are our answer, building the conditions for Europe to lead in innovation for decades to come.”
Nearly a decade of continuous progress
The European Innovation Scoreboard is the European Commission’s annual benchmark for measuring innovation performance across EU Member States, neighbouring countries and several major international economies.
The assessment is based on 32 indicators spanning education, digital infrastructure, research investment, business innovation, patent activity, startup creation and wider economic, environmental and social impact.
Using this broad range of indicators, countries are grouped into four performance categories: innovation leaders, strong innovators, moderate innovators, and emerging innovators.
The classification provides governments and policymakers with a consistent framework for monitoring strengths, identifying weaknesses and tracking long-term progress.
The methodology underpinning the Scoreboard has been developed and independently audited by the Commission’s Joint Research Centre, ensuring the data remains robust and comparable across participating countries.
Northern Europe continues to dominate
Sweden once again tops the rankings, maintaining its position as Europe’s strongest innovation performer. Denmark and the Netherlands complete the top three, with all three countries comfortably retaining their status as innovation leaders.
Finland remains firmly among Europe’s highest-performing economies, holding fourth place through consistently strong results across research and innovation indicators.
Malta recorded one of the most notable improvements in this year’s assessment, moving into the strong innovator category after surpassing the threshold equivalent to the EU average.
Although all Member States have improved, the results demonstrate that significant differences remain between national innovation ecosystems, underlining the continued need for targeted investment and policy support.
Global competition remains intense
The report also compares the EU with major international competitors.
South Korea continues to lead the global rankings, while China has recorded the fastest improvement in innovation performance in recent years, reflecting substantial investment in research, technology development and commercialisation.
These comparisons provide valuable insight into how Europe measures against other innovation-driven economies and help inform future policy decisions designed to strengthen competitiveness on the global stage.
Supporting future EU innovation policy
Beyond measuring performance, the European Innovation Scoreboard plays an important role in shaping the EU’s research and innovation agenda.
The findings help guide major initiatives, including the Startup and Scaleup Strategy, EU Inc., the forthcoming European Innovation Act and the proposed European Research Area Act.
This year’s edition also expands its international reach with the inclusion of Georgia for the first time, reflecting the widening participation of countries involved in Horizon Europe, the EU’s flagship research and innovation programme.
As European innovation continues to improve, the latest Scoreboard provides evidence that sustained investment in research, entrepreneurship and digital capabilities is delivering measurable progress.
However, the report also highlights that maintaining Europe’s competitive position will require continued collaboration, investment and policy reform as global rivals continue to advance.
