Gothenburg and Sweden shine in innovation rankings

These were some of the findings of the 2026 editions of the Global Innovation Index and the European Innovation Scoreboard. 

In the Global Innovation Index 2026, published on 29 September by the UN’s World Intellectual Property Organization, Sweden was ranked second of 139 economies - a position it has held for three years in a row. In this year's edition, Sweden was placed behind Switzerland and ahead of the US, the Republic of Korea and Singapore. Sweden has ranked among the top three countries throughout the entire 2020-2026 period.

Sweden ranks first in the world in two of the index's seven main areas: infrastructure and business sophistication. Sweden ranks fourth in both knowledge and technology outputs and creative outputs, and fifth in human capital and research.

In the European Commission's Innovation Scoreboard 2026, published on July 9, Sweden for the second year in row was placed first overall. It was the recognised as the top performer in eight of the 32 indicators, including R&D expenditure in the business sector, venture capital expenditures, PCT patent applications, and production-based CO₂ productivity. 

Gothenburg – a strong performing innovation cluster

The Global Innovation Index 2026 also evaluates innovation clusters across the globe, based on global patents, publications and venture capital deals. In the 2026 cluster report, released on 8 September, Gothenburg was again recognised as one of the top 100 clusters overall and 18th by intensity.

During the past five years, the Gothenburg cluster generated more than 2,000 PCT patent applications, with Ericsson, Volvo Group and Essity leading the way. The cluster's strongest technology fields were transport, digital communication, telecommunications and medical technology. 

Gothenburg also produced nearly 10,000 scientific articles, with engineering, technology, clinical medicine and chemistry as its leading research fields. In addition, the cluster attracted 410 venture capital deals.

Compared to last year, Gothenburg climbed two places to rank 18th in innovation cluster intensity, driven by an 8.4% increase in venture capital activity per capita.

The report highlights Gothenburg as one of the three most balanced clusters among the top 25, with strong performance across all three metrics: patents, publications and venture capital activity.

West Sweden – a regional innovation leader in Europe

In the EU’s biennial Regional Innovation Scoreboard, which assesses over 200 regions across Europe and was last published in 2025, Sweden had three regions ranked in the top 10: Stockholm (1st), West Sweden (9th) and Southern Sweden (10th).

West Sweden, with Gothenburg as its engine, was the overall top performer in three indicators: R&D expenditure in the business sector, Innovative SMEs collaborating with others, and Population involved in life-long learning. The region was also particularly strong in terms of Patent applications and Cloud computing in enterprises.

According to the EU, collaboration among innovative SMEs is an area where West Sweden has shown strong improvement since 2018. Other areas of notable progress include sales of new innovations and employment growth of ICT professionals. 

“These rankings highlight the strength of Sweden’s innovation system, both nationally and regionally. The Gothenburg region has a highly skilled workforce, thriving industry clusters, an excellent offering of testbeds and a culture of openness and collaboration. It’s an appealing environment for forward-thinking companies and investors,” says Marcus Scoliége, head of foreign direct investments at Business Region Göteborg, the Gothenburg region’s investment promotion agency.

Five things you should know about Gothenburg and West Sweden

• Västra Götaland, Gothenburg’s county, accounts for 35% of Sweden’s R&D expenditure in the business sector. Investments in the county have more than doubled during the past decade.
• The Gothenburg region has the highest concentration of engineers and natural scientists in Sweden. Engineers and IT professionals are the two most common occupations in the Gothenburg region.
• Testbeds are a cornerstone of Gothenburg's innovation strategy. The region has 60 active testbeds where companies can trial new solutions in real-world, lab and simulated environments.
• Investment promotion agencies in Västra Götaland County as well as Region Västra Götaland collaborate as part of a green transition project to attract and facilitate investments in the region.
• West Sweden has thriving clusters in automotive and mobility, ICT, life science, advanced manufacturing and textiles. 

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