The Philippines' ranking of 52nd in the 2026 Global Innovation Index (GII) prompts the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) to strengthen programs supporting local industries, encourage greater private-sector investment in research and development (R&D), and help translate scientific breakthroughs into scalable ventures that deliver broader economic and societal gains.
The country slipped two notches from its 50th rank in 2025 to 52nd in 2026 but is above the rank in 2024 where the Philippines placed 53rd.
This year, the Philippines ranked 69th in innovation inputs, a position lower than last year. Despite lower input, the country-maintained innovation output at 49th place, which is the same as last year.
"Filipinos do much with what they have," said DOST Secretary Renato U. Solidum Jr. "But being innovative despite constraints is not the same as having the scale of R&D capability needed to compete globally. The real challenge is encouraging private sectors to be invested in home-grown technologies.”
In the GII 2026, the Philippines ranked 3rd among the 36 Lower middle-income group economies. The Philippines performed above the Lower middle-income group average in all pillars but performed below the regional average in all pillars. Despite this ranking, the country’s performance has remained within a statistically consistent range from 2020 to 2026, ranking between 50th and 53rd place.
DOST noted that conventional indicators may not fully capture the research being done in the country, particularly privately funded R&D and work supported internally by universities and other institutions.
DOST emphasized that AI, biotechnology, semiconductors, advanced manufacturing and climate technologies cut across agencies, universities, industry and investors. "What we need is not simply more initiatives, but greater coherence among them," Secretary Solidum said.
"The real measure of our research infrastructure is not how many laboratories we build or projects we fund," he added. "It is whether we can move an idea from discovery to validation, to trusted technology, to industrial adoption, to scale, and ultimately to the global market. The infrastructure we need most is the connective tissue that allows knowledge to become capability, capability to become industry, and industry to become Philippine competitiveness."
Secretary Solidum also called for a shared national understanding of two terms central to the innovation agenda: technology transfer and commercialization. He urged government, academe and industry to align their usage with how these are defined internationally.
"Technology transfer and commercialization are often used interchangeably, or defined differently from one institution to another," he said. "If we want to be measured, funded and trusted on global terms, we must first speak the language the world speaks. A common definition lets us set clearer targets, report results consistently and be understood by our international partners and investors."
The Global Innovation Tracker in the GII 2026 report provided an overview of the current state of innovation in the Philippines, including the pace at which technology is being adopted and its resulting societal impacts. The Philippines improved in nine indicators over the short term, which includes: a) Science and innovation investment (1. scientific publications, 2. R&D investments, 3. International Patent Filings); b) Technology adoption (4. safe sanitation, 5. connectivity, 6. robots, 7. Electric Vehicles), c) socio-economic impact (8. Labor productivity, 9. Life expectancy). while some indicators recorded a decline (Venture Capital, International Patent Filings, but in the short term).
In the science and technology investments, both short term and long-term investments reported a slight increase in scientific publications and R&D investments. For technology adoption, electric vehicle consumption indicated a remarkable 629.2% increase in the short-term from 2024 to 2025, with 161.5% in long-term annual growth between 2017 to 2025. These positive trends also affected Philippine socioeconomic growth for both the short term and long-term indicators.
In addressing the lower rank of innovation inputs, which affects gross R&D expenditure, the number of graduates in science and engineering and the number of researchers in the country, DOST Secretary Solidum expressed the need for government to beef up the budget in the mentioned areas: “Investments in R&D strengthens the competitiveness of local industries, invigorates private sector investments, and offers opportunities for locally-made technologies.”
The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) aims at providing science-based, innovative, and inclusive solutions across four strategic pillars: human well-being, wealth creation, wealth protection, and sustainability. These pillars embody the mantra OneDOST4U: Solutions and Opportunities for All. For more information, visit www.dost.gov.ph