The Global Innovation Index 2026 ranks Chile (51) and Brazil (53) as the most innovative economies in Latin America, although the region still fails to translate its human capital and scientific output into global results. Brazil is the only Latin American country that exceeds 1% of GDP in R&D spending.
The Global Innovation Index (GII) 2026, produced by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), has evaluated 139 economies using 79 indicators. In Latin America, Chile is in 51st place and Brazil in 53rd, followed by Mexico (65), Uruguay (66) and Costa Rica (70), according to ecosistemastartup.com.
The report highlights that Brazil is the only Latin American economy with R&D spending exceeding 1% of GDP and the only one that, for the sixth consecutive year, surpasses the expected performance for its level of development. The region has human capital, infrastructure, and scientific output, but fails to convert these inputs into global innovation results.
At the opposite end, Venezuela ranks 127th globally, just above 12 economies. Other lagging countries include Paraguay (107), Ecuador (105), Bolivia (98), Guatemala (94) and Honduras (93), with weak links between knowledge, businesses, and markets, according to the WIPO report.
The gap between inputs and results is notable in the region. Chile ranks 41st in inputs but 70th in results; Uruguay, 56th in inputs and 77th in results; Costa Rica, 62nd and 76th; and Trinidad and Tobago, 96th and 121st. For entrepreneurs, this implies that there is fertile ground in human capital, regulation, and connectivity, but the money and mechanisms to bring research to market are still insufficient.
Globally, the podium is led by Switzerland (66.7 points), Sweden (63.2) and the United States (62.3), followed by South Korea (61.4) and Singapore (61.0). Switzerland retains the top spot for the sixteenth consecutive year, according to WIPO.
The report also notes three key trends: global R&D spending grew by more than 3.3% in real terms in 2025 and is projected to reach 3.4 trillion dollars in 2026, with corporate R&D at a record 1.5 trillion (+5.8%) driven by software, AI, and defence. Venture capital for innovative startups grew by 28% in 2025 to 510 billion dollars, the largest jump since 2021, although AI captured 53% of the total value of global deals. Deep science startups have surpassed 30,000 since 2000, nearly ten times more than in 2010, and are collectively valued at 7.6 trillion dollars, 23% more than in 2024. Between 2020 and 2025, Latin America and the Caribbean was one of the fastest-growing regions for this type of venture.
These figures, presented by WIPO in Geneva, show that money for innovation is flowing, but the portion that reaches Latin America remains marginal compared to the United States, China, and Europe. The GII 2026 confirms a translation problem: the region has scientists and engineers, but lacks mechanisms to convert that knowledge into wealth.
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