UK maintains top six place for innovation
The UK has been ranked 6th in the world, and 3rd in Europe in the latest Global Innovation Index, published by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).
The index, published annually, provides comprehensive analysis of innovation ecosystems across 139 economies, tracking global innovation trends through investment patterns, technological progress, adoption rates and socioeconomic impacts.
For the second consecutive year the UK has been ranked as the 6th most innovative economy globally by the Global Innovation Index.
The 2026 index ranks the UK highly (7th) for intellectual property receipts. It is also strong in creative outputs (3rd), market sophistication (4th) and knowledge and technology outputs (5th), and continues to produce more innovation output relative to its level of investment than most comparable economies
The UK ranks 3rd of 39 European economies and 6th of 54 high-income economies.
WIPO again rates the UK an innovation leader that performs above expectations for its level of economic development. Switzerland tops the index for the 16th year running, with Sweden 2nd and the United States 3rd.
Growth in brand value
The UK’s brands in the global top 5,000 are worth a combined $567bn, up 10% on 2025. This puts the UK 12th for global brand value.
Shell ($51.8bn), HSBC ($33.7bn) and EY ($29.2bn) lead the way in terms of brand value according to the report.
While AstraZeneca (97%), Linde (90%) and British American Tobacco (109%) are the most intangible-asset intensive companies in the UK the report notes.