Global Innovation Index Tracker

KPI Status 🟡

Indicator Analysis

The Global Innovation Index (GII), published by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), measures countries’ innovation inputs (institutions, human capital, infrastructure, market sophistication, business sophistication) and outputs (knowledge and technology outputs, creative outputs).

Oman’s profile: Oman tends to score relatively well on market sophistication and infrastructure inputs but struggles on knowledge and technology outputs — reflecting the limited R&D investment and commercialisation of research.

Progress: Movement from rank 69 to approximately rank 60 represents meaningful progress. The education achievements (SQU rank 334, 5 universities in QS top 500) are gradually improving the GII’s education and human capital components.

Key GII Components to Watch

1. R&D expenditure (% GDP): Oman’s R&D spending is below 0.5% of GDP — well below the 3%+ of top innovators. Vision 2040 requires this to grow substantially.
2. PCT patent applications: Commercialisable research output — currently very low from Oman.
3. High-tech exports: A key GII output metric — Oman’s export basket remains commodity-dominated.
4. ICT infrastructure: Strong progress (93% e-government) is improving this component.

2030 Target Assessment

Reaching GII top 40 by 2030 requires approximately 20 rank improvements — a significant but potentially achievable trajectory if research investment and innovation ecosystem development accelerates.

Data Sources

This indicator is drawn from: official Oman Vision 2040 Progress Reports (IFU/Supreme Council for Planning), NCSI national statistics, and relevant international organisations (UNDP, World Bank, IMF, WIPO as applicable).

Note: This page contains Layer 2 premium analysis. Underlying indicator definitions and headline values are available in the free Layer 1 content.