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Topic 02 of 12 · Country Index 2026
Economy & Innovation
What does an economy do for the people inside it?
Iceland is placed first of 150 countries on economy & innovation in the Country Index 2026, and Chad 150th. The standing rests on 3 key statistics; the other 44 on this page are published as context, with no vote.
02
3 key statistics
01Country Index 2026
Who leads on economy & innovation
The three countries placed highest of 150, the three placed lowest, and the country placed highest on each continent. Each position is a place in this topic’s own list, built from its key statistics.
1
IcelandNorthern Europe
1st of 150 · 2 of 3 keys
Photo: Hansueli Krapf · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
2
SwitzerlandWestern Europe
2nd of 150 · 3 of 3 keys
Photo: Simon Koopmann derivative work: Jjtkk · CC BY-SA 2.0 de, greyscale
3
AustriaWestern Europe
3rd of 150 · 3 of 3 keys
Photo: chensiyuan · CC BY-SA 4.0, greyscale
Placed lowest on Economy & Innovation
Positions out of 150. A standing is relative: it says where a country places against the others measured, not that it scored zero.
Placed first on each continent · position among all 150
02The subject
About economy & innovation
What an economy pays, produces and moves. Take-home wages, output per person, the capacity to generate and commercialise new ideas, how efficiently goods cross borders, how many adults hold a bank account, and how much of the workforce the economy actually lets participate. Note that the SIZE of an economy is deliberately absent: GDP appears here only per person, because what matters is what an economy does for the people inside it, not how large it is in total.
An economy is measured here by what it produces for each person who lives in it, what it knows how to make, and whether ordinary adults can take part in it at all. Output per person is the familiar starting point; the capability to make complex, rarely made goods says something output alone cannot, because it is the base future income grows from.
Inclusion is the third leg. An economy can be rich on average while a large share of adults hold no bank account and move no money through any formal system, and that exclusion shapes what the average can do for them.
What this topic does not measure
The total size of an economy is deliberately left out: a very large economy spread over a very large population is not doing more for each person. Growth rates, trade shares and the structure of output (how much is farming, industry or services) are published here as context, because they describe an economy's shape rather than how well it serves people. Jobs and wages have their own topic, Work & Labour.
03The evidence
The 3 statistics that decide it
These are the only statistics that place countries on economy & innovation — one vote each. Every number is somebody else’s research, reproduced without adjustment; the ordering on top is this site’s.
Key 1 of 3
GDP per Capita (PPP)
World Bank Group
Why it is a key: Output per person: the standard measure of an economy's size set against the population it has to support.
- Edition used
- 2025data for 2025
- Countries
- 185
- Publisher’s rank
- None — values only
- Licence
- CC BY 4.0
Every country, every editionCurrent leader, 2025 edition
SingaporeKey 2 of 3
Economic Complexity Index
Growth Lab at Harvard University
Why it is a key: What an economy knows how to make, read from the diversity and rarity of what it exports.
- Edition used
- 2024data for 2024
- Countries
- 145
- Publisher’s rank
- Published
- Licence
- CC0 1.0
Every country, every editionCurrent leader, 2024 edition
JapanKey 3 of 3
Account Ownership at a Financial Institution
World Bank Group
Why it is a key: Whether ordinary adults are inside the financial system at all, which output per person does not reveal.
- Edition used
- 2024data for 2024
- Countries
- 139
- Publisher’s rank
- None — values only
- Licence
- CC BY 4.0
Every country, every editionCurrent leader, 2024 edition
IcelandHow the keys combine
Each country’s value on each key becomes its place in that key’s own field, as a share of the field. The shares are averaged, one vote per key, and only the order that produces is published.
The method in full
04Every placed country
Economy & Innovation on a map
Darker is placed higher. Hover a country for its position, or select it to open its page. Below the map, each continent’s median position — half its placed countries sit at or above it, so lower is better.
1st150thNot placed · 74 countries with too few key statisticsNo data
1st of 5 continents
Europe
27th
median position, of 150 · 39 of its 49 countries placed
Highest
Iceland2nd of 5 continents
Oceania
37th
median position, of 150 · 3 of its 21 countries placed
Highest
New Zealand3rd of 5 continents
Asia
70th
median position, of 150 · 40 of its 52 countries placed
Highest
Singapore4th of 5 continents
Americas
75th
median position, of 150 · 24 of its 48 countries placed
Highest
United States5th of 5 continents
Africa
120th
median position, of 150 · 44 of its 55 countries placed
Highest
Mauritius- Every region
All 19 sub-regions on Economy & Innovation, best median first
- 1Northern Europemedian 8thfrom 10 of 13Iceland1
- 2Western Europemedian 9thfrom 6 of 9Switzerland2
- 3Eastern Asiamedian 15thfrom 5 of 8Japan12
- 4Northern Americamedian 17thfrom 2 of 4United States17
- 5Australia and New Zealandmedian 32ndfrom 2 of 2New Zealand32
- 6Eastern Europemedian 42ndfrom 10 of 10
Czechia22 - 7Southern Europemedian 44thfrom 13 of 17
Slovenia13 - 8Western Asiamedian 60thfrom 15 of 19
Israel26 - 9Caribbeanmedian 71stfrom 4 of 24
Trinidad and Tobago65 - 10Southern Asiamedian 74thfrom 6 of 9
India58 - 11South Americamedian 75thfrom 10 of 12
Brazil54 - 12South-eastern Asiamedian 79thfrom 9 of 11Singapore4
- 13Central Americamedian 83rdfrom 8 of 8
Panama=61 - 14Southern Africamedian 84thfrom 5 of 5
South Africa69 - 15Central Asiamedian 86thfrom 5 of 5
Kazakhstan47 - 16Northern Africamedian 106thfrom 6 of 6
Tunisia89 - 17Middle Africamedian 122ndfrom 7 of 9
Gabon99 - 18Eastern Africamedian 125thfrom 12 of 19Mauritius50
- 19Western Africamedian 126thfrom 14 of 16
Senegal97
05The whole field
Where all 150 countries stand
In order, best first. A row resting on fewer keys rests on less evidence: a country needs 2 of the 3 to be placed at all. “=” marks a position shared with another country. Select a country to see the working behind its standing.
Showing 25 of 150 countries placed on Economy & Innovation
- 1 of 150IcelandNorthern Europe2/3
- 2 of 150SwitzerlandWestern Europe3/3
- 3 of 150AustriaWestern Europe3/3
- 4 of 150SingaporeSouth-eastern Asia3/3
- 5 of 150
IrelandNorthern Europe3/3 - =6 of 150
FinlandNorthern Europe3/3 - =6 of 150
United KingdomNorthern Europe3/3 - 8 of 150
SwedenNorthern Europe3/3 - 9 of 150
GermanyWestern Europe3/3 - 10 of 150
DenmarkNorthern Europe3/3 - 11 of 150
NetherlandsWestern Europe3/3 - 12 of 150JapanEastern Asia3/3
- 13 of 150SloveniaSouthern Europe3/3
- 14 of 150
FranceWestern Europe3/3 - =15 of 150
Hong KongEastern Asia3/3 - =15 of 150
South KoreaEastern Asia3/3 - 17 of 150United StatesNorthern America3/3
- 18 of 150
NorwayNorthern Europe3/3 - 19 of 150
BelgiumWestern Europe3/3 - 20 of 150
MaltaSouthern Europe2/3 - 21 of 150
LithuaniaNorthern Europe3/3 - 22 of 150CzechiaEastern Europe3/3
- 23 of 150
CanadaNorthern America3/3 - 24 of 150
EstoniaNorthern Europe3/3 - 25 of 150
SpainSouthern Europe3/3 - 26 of 150IsraelWestern Asia3/3
- 27 of 150
SlovakiaEastern Europe3/3 - 28 of 150
ItalySouthern Europe3/3 - 29 of 150
CroatiaSouthern Europe3/3 - 30 of 150
HungaryEastern Europe3/3 - 31 of 150
CyprusWestern Asia3/3 - 32 of 150New ZealandAustralia and New Zealand3/3
- =33 of 150
ChinaEastern Asia3/3 - =33 of 150
PolandEastern Europe3/3 - 35 of 150
LatviaNorthern Europe3/3 - 36 of 150
PortugalSouthern Europe3/3 - 37 of 150
AustraliaAustralia and New Zealand3/3 - 38 of 150
MalaysiaSouth-eastern Asia3/3 - 39 of 150
QatarWestern Asia2/3 - 40 of 150
ThailandSouth-eastern Asia3/3 - 41 of 150
Saudi ArabiaWestern Asia3/3 - 42 of 150
BelarusEastern Europe2/3 - 43 of 150
BulgariaEastern Europe3/3 - 44 of 150
GreeceSouthern Europe3/3 - 45 of 150
BahrainWestern Asia3/3 - 46 of 150
RomaniaEastern Europe3/3 - 47 of 150KazakhstanCentral Asia3/3
- 48 of 150
TürkiyeWestern Asia3/3 - 49 of 150
SerbiaSouthern Europe3/3 - 50 of 150MauritiusEastern Africa3/3
- =51 of 150
KuwaitWestern Asia3/3 - =51 of 150
North MacedoniaSouthern Europe3/3 - 53 of 150
RussiaEastern Europe3/3 - 54 of 150BrazilSouth America3/3
- 55 of 150
Bosnia and HerzegovinaSouthern Europe3/3 - 56 of 150
MontenegroSouthern Europe2/3 - 57 of 150
UkraineEastern Europe3/3 - 58 of 150IndiaSouthern Asia3/3
- 59 of 150
ChileSouth America3/3 - 60 of 150
GeorgiaWestern Asia3/3 - =61 of 150
ArmeniaWestern Asia3/3 - =61 of 150PanamaCentral America3/3
- 63 of 150
UruguaySouth America3/3 - 64 of 150
Costa RicaCentral America3/3 - 65 of 150Trinidad and TobagoCaribbean3/3
- 66 of 150
ArgentinaSouth America3/3 - =67 of 150
IranSouthern Asia3/3 - =67 of 150
MexicoCentral America3/3 - 69 of 150South AfricaSouthern Africa3/3
- 70 of 150
VietnamSouth-eastern Asia3/3 - 71 of 150
Dominican RepublicCaribbean3/3 - 72 of 150
MongoliaEastern Asia3/3 - 73 of 150
OmanWestern Asia3/3 - 74 of 150
Sri LankaSouthern Asia3/3 - 75 of 150
ColombiaSouth America3/3 - 76 of 150
KenyaEastern Africa3/3 - 77 of 150
EswatiniSouthern Africa3/3 - 78 of 150
KosovoSouthern Europe2/3 - 79 of 150
PhilippinesSouth-eastern Asia3/3 - 80 of 150
KyrgyzstanCentral Asia3/3 - =81 of 150
IndonesiaSouth-eastern Asia3/3 - =81 of 150
MoldovaEastern Europe3/3 - 83 of 150
BelizeCentral America2/3 - 84 of 150
BotswanaSouthern Africa3/3 - 85 of 150
ParaguaySouth America3/3 - 86 of 150
UzbekistanCentral Asia3/3 - =87 of 150
AlbaniaSouthern Europe3/3 - =87 of 150
AzerbaijanWestern Asia3/3 - 89 of 150TunisiaNorthern Africa3/3
- 90 of 150
NamibiaSouthern Africa3/3 - 91 of 150
VenezuelaSouth America2/3 - 92 of 150
El SalvadorCentral America3/3 - 93 of 150
EgyptNorthern Africa3/3 - 94 of 150
PeruSouth America3/3 - 95 of 150
EcuadorSouth America3/3 - 96 of 150
JamaicaCaribbean2/3 - 97 of 150SenegalWestern Africa3/3
- 98 of 150
JordanWestern Asia3/3 - 99 of 150GabonMiddle Africa3/3
- 100 of 150
GhanaWestern Africa3/3 - 101 of 150
TurkmenistanCentral Asia2/3 - 102 of 150
LebanonWestern Asia2/3 - 103 of 150
GuatemalaCentral America3/3 - 104 of 150
NepalSouthern Asia3/3 - 105 of 150
ZambiaEastern Africa3/3 - 106 of 150
MoroccoNorthern Africa3/3 - 107 of 150
UgandaEastern Africa3/3 - 108 of 150
AngolaMiddle Africa2/3 - 109 of 150
BoliviaSouth America3/3 - 110 of 150
CambodiaSouth-eastern Asia3/3 - 111 of 150
BangladeshSouthern Asia3/3 - 112 of 150
Côte d’IvoireWestern Africa3/3 - 113 of 150
HondurasCentral America3/3 - =114 of 150
NigeriaWestern Africa3/3 - =114 of 150
TogoWestern Africa3/3 - 116 of 150
AlgeriaNorthern Africa3/3 - 117 of 150
TanzaniaEastern Africa3/3 - 118 of 150
LesothoSouthern Africa2/3 - 119 of 150
LaosSouth-eastern Asia3/3 - =120 of 150
Equatorial GuineaMiddle Africa2/3 - =120 of 150
PakistanSouthern Asia3/3 - 122 of 150
CameroonMiddle Africa3/3 - 123 of 150
MyanmarSouth-eastern Asia2/3 - 124 of 150
BeninWestern Africa3/3 - 125 of 150
ZimbabweEastern Africa3/3 - 126 of 150
MaliWestern Africa3/3 - 127 of 150
TajikistanCentral Asia3/3 - =128 of 150
HaitiCaribbean2/3 - =128 of 150
LibyaNorthern Africa3/3 - 130 of 150
Burkina FasoWestern Africa3/3 - 131 of 150
NicaraguaCentral America3/3 - 132 of 150
IraqWestern Asia3/3 - 133 of 150
Republic of the CongoMiddle Africa3/3 - =134 of 150
ComorosEastern Africa2/3 - =134 of 150
EthiopiaEastern Africa3/3 - =134 of 150
PalestineWestern Asia2/3 - 137 of 150
MalawiEastern Africa3/3 - 138 of 150
MauritaniaWestern Africa3/3 - 139 of 150
RwandaEastern Africa2/3 - 140 of 150
MozambiqueEastern Africa3/3 - 141 of 150
Papua New GuineaMelanesia2/3 - 142 of 150
Sierra LeoneWestern Africa2/3 - 143 of 150
LiberiaWestern Africa3/3 - 144 of 150
GuineaWestern Africa3/3 - 145 of 150
GambiaWestern Africa2/3 - 146 of 150
NigerWestern Africa3/3 - 147 of 150
MadagascarEastern Africa3/3 - 148 of 150
DR CongoMiddle Africa3/3 - 149 of 150
SudanNorthern Africa2/3 - 150 of 150
ChadMiddle Africa3/3
74 countries measured in the index but not placed on economy & innovation
Each holds readings on too few of this topic’s key statistics to be placed. Their profiles still show every reading the publishers give.
- Afghanistan
- American Samoa
- Andorra
- Anguilla
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Aruba
- Bahamas
- Barbados
- Bermuda
- Bhutan
- British Virgin Islands
- Brunei
- Burundi
- Cabo Verde
- Cayman Islands
- Central African Republic
- Channel Islands
- Cook Islands
- Cuba
- Curaçao
- Djibouti
- Dominica
- Eritrea
- Faroe Islands
- Fiji
- French Polynesia
- Gibraltar
- Greenland
- Grenada
- Guam
- Guinea-Bissau
- Guyana
- Isle of Man
- Kiribati
- Liechtenstein
- Luxembourg
- Macau
- Maldives
- Marshall Islands
- Micronesia
- Monaco
- Montserrat
- Nauru
- New Caledonia
- Niue
- North Korea
- Northern Mariana Islands
- Palau
- Puerto Rico
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Saint Lucia
- Saint Martin
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Samoa
- San Marino
- São Tomé and Príncipe
- Seychelles
- Sint Maarten
- Solomon Islands
- Somalia
- Somaliland
- South Sudan
- Suriname
- Syria
- Taiwan
- Timor-Leste
- Tonga
- Turks and Caicos Islands
- Tuvalu
- United Arab Emirates
- United States Virgin Islands
- Vanuatu
- Vatican City
- Yemen
06Beyond the headline
A different story
The countries placed furthest above and below their overall position in the Country Index 2026. Both positions are compared as a share of their own field, because 50th of 193 and 50th of 174 are not the same showing.
Placed higher on Economy & Innovation than overall
07In records
Economy in records
One country at the extreme of a statistic under this topic, read from its newest edition. Where countries tie at the top, no record is named.
Most complex economy
1.729
on the Economic Complexity Index
Highest GDP per person
139,593
international $ at purchasing power parity
Most innovative economy
65.96
on WIPO’s 0–100 Global Innovation Index
08Latest editions
Who rose and fell in the published ranks
The biggest moves between each report’s two newest editions, in the publisher’s own ranks — reports under this topic that print a rank. A report whose field changed by more than 5% is left out.
Ranks as published by Growth Lab at Harvard University in the Economic Complexity Index: reference years 2023 (145 countries ranked) → 2024 (145 ranked), both from its 2026 report.
Improved most
rank before → after- Togo125 → 103+22
- Haiti122 → 101+21
Afghanistan127 → 108+19
Declined most
rank before → after- Gabon102 → 137−35
- Tajikistan107 → 129−22
- Bahrain43 → 64−21
Ranks as published by Oxford Insights in the Government AI Readiness Index: the 2024 edition (188 countries ranked) → the 2025 edition (195 ranked).
Improved most
rank before → after- Tanzania139 → 93+46
- Côte d’Ivoire140 → 95+45
- Nepal150 → 106+44
Declined most
rank before → after
Saint Kitts and Nevis102 → 170−68
Grenada121 → 176−55
Marshall Islands123 → 177−54
Ranks as published by UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in the Liner Shipping Connectivity Index: the 2025 edition (168 countries ranked) → the 2026 edition (167 ranked).
Improved most
rank before → after
Syria108 → 89+19
Cabo Verde163 → 147+16- Cambodia86 → 71+15
Ranks as published by World Intellectual Property Organization in the Global Innovation Index: the 2024 edition (133 countries ranked) → the 2025 edition (139 ranked).
Declined most
rank before → after- Bosnia and Herzegovina80 → 92−12
- Mongolia67 → 78−11
- Bolivia100 → 111−11
09Context, no vote
Also measured under economy & innovation
44 more statistics on the same subject, published in full and deliberately given no vote — keeping them out is what stops the standing drifting toward whichever kind of statistic was imported most. Select a row for its leader and trend.
Regulatory QualityWorld Bank Group · 209 countries · 2024World Bank Group2092024
Current leader:
SingaporeWorld Bank Group · 26 editions, data 1996–2024
Crop Production IndexFAO · 195 countries · 2022FAO1952022
Current leader:
SenegalFood and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) · 62 editions, data 1961–2022
Food Production IndexFAO · 195 countries · 2022FAO1952022
Current leader:
SenegalFood and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) · 62 editions, data 1961–2022
Government AI Readiness IndexOxford Insights · 195 countries · 2025Oxford Insights1952025
Current leader:
United StatesOxford Insights · 6 editions, data 2020–2025
Livestock Production IndexFAO · 194 countries · 2022FAO1942022
Current leader:
MalawiFood and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) · 62 editions, data 1961–2022
GDP GrowthWorld Bank Group · 186 countries · 2025World Bank Group1862025
Current leader:
GuyanaWorld Bank Group · 65 editions, data 1961–2025
Cereal YieldFAO · 179 countries · 2023FAO1792023
Current leader:
OmanFood and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) · 63 editions, data 1961–2023
Inequality-adjusted Human Development IndexUNDP Human Development Report Office · 169 countries · 2023UNDP Human Development Report Office1692023
Current leader:
IcelandUNDP Human Development Report Office · 14 editions, data 2010–2023
Liner Shipping Connectivity IndexUNCTAD · 167 countries · 2026UNCTAD1672026
Current leader:
ChinaUN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) · 21 editions, data 2006–2026
Global Innovation IndexWorld Intellectual Property Organization · 139 countries · 2025World Intellectual Property Organization1392025
Current leader:
SwitzerlandWorld Intellectual Property Organization · 4 editions, data 2022–2025
Logistics Performance IndexWorld Bank Group · 139 countries · 2023World Bank Group1392023
Current leader:
SingaporeWorld Bank Group · 7 editions, data 2007–2023
World Energy Trilemma IndexWorld Energy Council · 126 countries · 2023World Energy Council1262023
ICT Goods ExportsUNCTAD · 120 countries · 2024UNCTAD1202024
Current leader:
Hong KongUN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) · 25 editions, data 2000–2024
Adjusted Net SavingsWorld Bank Group · 118 countries · 2021World Bank Group1182021
Current leader:
BangladeshWorld Bank Group · 32 editions, data 1990–2021
External Debt Stocks (% of GNI)World Bank Group · 110 countries · 2024World Bank Group1102024
Most affected:
MozambiqueWorld Bank Group · 44 editions, data 1981–2024
Debt Service on External DebtWorld Bank Group · 109 countries · 2024World Bank Group1092024
Most affected:
El SalvadorWorld Bank Group · 43 editions, data 1982–2024
GNI per Capita (PPP)World Bank Group · 102 countries · 2025World Bank Group1022025
Current leader:
SingaporeWorld Bank Group · 32 editions, data 1994–2025
Research and Development SpendingUIS · 84 countries · 2023UIS842023
Current leader:
IsraelUNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) · 28 editions, data 1996–2023
Gini IndexWorld Bank Group · 73 countries · 2022World Bank Group732022
Most affected:
ColombiaWorld Bank Group · 21 editions, data 2002–2022
Income Share Held by Lowest 20%World Bank Group · 73 countries · 2022World Bank Group732022
Current leader:
IndiaWorld Bank Group · 21 editions, data 2002–2022
Poverty Gap at $3.00 a DayWorld Bank Group · 73 countries · 2022World Bank Group732022
Most affected:
MozambiqueWorld Bank Group · 21 editions, data 2002–2022
Poverty Headcount Ratio at $3.00 a DayWorld Bank Group · 73 countries · 2022World Bank Group732022
Most affected:
MozambiqueWorld Bank Group · 21 editions, data 2002–2022
Poverty Headcount Ratio at $8.30 a DayWorld Bank Group · 73 countries · 2022World Bank Group732022
Most affected:
MozambiqueWorld Bank Group · 21 editions, data 2002–2022
Prosperity GapWorld Bank Group · 73 countries · 2022World Bank Group732022
Most affected:
MozambiqueWorld Bank Group · 21 editions, data 2002–2022
Business Ready: Operational EfficiencyWorld Bank Group · 50 countries · 2024World Bank Group502024
Business Ready: Public ServicesWorld Bank Group · 50 countries · 2024World Bank Group502024
Business Ready: Regulatory FrameworkWorld Bank Group · 50 countries · 2024World Bank Group502024
Describing the shape of a country (17)
These have no better end — more is not better or worse, only different — so they could not place countries even as keys.
Agricultural LandFAO · 209 countries · 2023FAO2092023
Highest:
Côte d’IvoireFood and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) · 63 editions, data 1961–2023
Total Natural Resources Rents (% of GDP)World Bank Group · 197 countries · 2021World Bank Group1972021
Fertilizer Consumption per HectareFAO · 191 countries · 2023FAO1912023
Highest:
MalaysiaFood and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) · 63 editions, data 1961–2023
Livestock DensityFAO · 188 countries · 2023FAO1882023
Highest:
SingaporeFood and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) · 63 editions, data 1961–2023
Public Sector Wage BillWorld Bank Group · 168 countries · 2022World Bank Group1682022
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing Value Added (% of GDP)World Bank Group · 158 countries · 2025World Bank Group1582025
Industry Value Added including Construction (% of GDP)World Bank Group · 158 countries · 2025World Bank Group1582025
Gross Savings (% of GDP)World Bank Group · 146 countries · 2024World Bank Group1462024
Exports of Goods and Services (% of GDP)World Bank Group · 138 countries · 2025World Bank Group1382025
Highest:
Hong KongWorld Bank Group · 56 editions, data 1970–2025
Imports of Goods and Services (% of GDP)World Bank Group · 138 countries · 2025World Bank Group1382025
Highest:
Hong KongWorld Bank Group · 56 editions, data 1970–2025
Trade (% of GDP)World Bank Group · 138 countries · 2025World Bank Group1382025
Highest:
Hong KongWorld Bank Group · 56 editions, data 1970–2025
General Government ConsumptionWorld Bank Group · 132 countries · 2025World Bank Group1322025
Highest:
UkraineWorld Bank Group · 56 editions, data 1970–2025
Manufacturing Value Added (% of GDP)World Bank Group · 132 countries · 2025World Bank Group1322025
Highest:
Puerto RicoWorld Bank Group · 49 editions, data 1977–2025
Gross Capital Formation (% of GDP)World Bank Group · 131 countries · 2025World Bank Group1312025
Highest:
AlgeriaWorld Bank Group · 56 editions, data 1970–2025
Household ConsumptionWorld Bank Group · 131 countries · 2025World Bank Group1312025
Highest:
SomaliaWorld Bank Group · 56 editions, data 1970–2025
Net Official Development Assistance ReceivedOECD Development Assistance Committee · 130 countries · 2023OECD Development Assistance Committee1302023
Highest:
TuvaluOECD Development Assistance Committee · 58 editions, data 1966–2023
Container Port TrafficUNCTAD · 103 countries · 2024UNCTAD1032024
Highest:
ChinaUN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) · 15 editions, data 2010–2024
10Analysis
Charts and analysis on economy & innovation
China Leads Global High-Technology Exports
The world’s ten largest high-technology exporters as a treemap, with the rest of the world beside them. Each country’s figure is its own most recent year, between 2022 and 2024.
India vs Pakistan 2025: Comparison of Hunger Index, Happiness, HDI, Rule of Law, Literacy & GDP
India and Pakistan on six published measures: hunger, happiness, human development, rule of law, literacy and GDP per capita. India is the better placed on five of them; Pakistan on one.
Countries in Asia with the highest average salaries 2024
Thirteen Asian countries by gross average monthly wage, each carrying its WORLD rank rather than an Asian one — so the numbers skip, from 11th place to 45th.
11Keep reading
Explore further
The most-read profiles, on Economy & Innovation
How Economy & Innovation relates to the other topics
- Moves most with: Development & Human CapitalCountries place very similarly on both. (0.90, 149 countries)
- Moves most with: Health & WellbeingCountries place very similarly on both. (0.90, 149 countries)
- Moves least with: Environment & SustainabilityAlmost no link between the two. (-0.09, 138 countries)
Rank correlation of the two topics’ positions across the countries placed on both: 1 means the same order, 0 no link. Every pair of topics
The other topics
The full Country Index 2026- Governance & InstitutionsFirst: Denmark
- Work & LabourFirst: Iceland
- Education & KnowledgeFirst: South Korea
- Health & WellbeingFirst:
San Marino - Development & Human CapitalFirst:
United Arab Emirates - Environment & SustainabilityFirst: Uruguay
- Gender & EqualityFirst: Sweden
- Democracy & Civil LibertiesFirst: Norway
- Peace & SecurityFirst: Iceland
- Risk & ResilienceFirst:
Liechtenstein - Mobility & ConnectivityFirst: Singapore
- Every topic, side by side
12Method
Questions, method and sources
Which country is placed first on economy & innovation in the Country Index 2026?
Iceland, of the 150 countries given a standing on Economy & Innovation. The standing is this site’s own, built from 3 key statistics by 10 publishers; it is not a rank any of those publishers printed.
Which country is placed last on economy & innovation?
Chad, 150th of 150. A standing says how a country places against the others measured alongside it, so it moves when they move.
Which statistics decide the Economy & Innovation standing?
GDP per Capita (PPP), Economic Complexity Index, Account Ownership at a Financial Institution. Each is read at one edition and turned into a place within its own field; the places are averaged with one vote each. The other 44 statistics on this topic are published as context and have no vote.
Why is a country not placed on economy & innovation?
A country needs readings on at least 2 of the 3 key statistics before it is placed. 74 countries in the Country Index fall short on this topic; every reading the publishers do give for them is still on their profiles.
Are these the publishers’ own rankings?
The underlying numbers and any printed ranks are the publishers’, reproduced without adjustment on each statistic’s page. The standing that combines them is this site’s, and the average it is ordered by is never published — only the position it produces.
How the Economy & Innovation standing is decided, step by step
A standing is a place in a list, not a mark out of anything. This one is part of the Country Index 2026, and it is worked out like this.
- A few key indicators decide it; the rest are context. 3 indicators on this topic are keys and 44 are charted alongside them without a vote. That split is the point: if every statistic voted, importing five more of one kind would quietly change what the topic is about.
- Each key is read at one edition. ⚠ The keys behind this standing do not all describe the same year — they run from 2024 to 2025, because publishers release on their own schedules. Read the standing as “how this country places now”, not as a snapshot of one year.
- Every country’s published value is turned into a place within that one key’s own field, and then expressed as a share of that field — how far down this key’s list the country sits, rather than how many countries are above it. Keys where a higher published number is worse (terrorism, hunger, disaster risk) are turned round first, so the good end is always the same end.
- Dividing by the field first is the whole reason this works. A place carries the size of its list inside it: 22nd of 44 and 108th of 215 are the same showing, and averaging the numbers 22 and 108 says loudly that they are not. Fields on this site run from about 44 countries to about 215, so averaging raw places would reward a country for happening to be measured in small ones. Dividing each place by its own field removes the size and leaves only the showing.
- The shares are averaged, plainly. One key, one vote — no key is weighted above another, because any weighting would be this site’s opinion presented as a measurement. Countries are then put in order by that average, and the average itself is never published. It is our arithmetic with nothing anchoring it, so printing it would invite it to be read as a measurement somebody made. The position it produces, the band, and the keys it was built from are all published instead — every one of them checkable against the tables on this page.
- A country needs 2 of this topic’s 3 keys — half, rounded up, and never fewer than 2. A standing built from one reading, printed beside one built from four, is two different things sharing a column heading. 150 countries clear the bar here.
- A key has to earn its vote every edition. It must measure at least 120 countries (below that it starts measuring who was surveyed rather than the world), it must not have more than 10% of its field tied at either end, and it must not repeat another key in the same topic — Spearman correlation above 0.92 counts as repeating. A topic needs at least 2 surviving keys to place anyone at all; this one has 3.
- A standing is relative, and the grouping is ours. It says where a country places against the others measured alongside it, so it moves when they move. The publishers listed on this page did not agree to be read together, and each measures its subject its own way: the underlying numbers are theirs, the ordering on top is this site’s — the same method as the rest of the Country Index, applied to one subject instead of all of them.
The key statistics and their licences
- GDP per Capita (PPP) — World Bank Group, CC BY 4.0
- Economic Complexity Index — Growth Lab at Harvard University, CC0 1.0
- Account Ownership at a Financial Institution — World Bank Group, CC BY 4.0
The other 44 statistics on this page come from 9 publishers, each named beside its numbers, with every edition and licence on the datasets pages.
The standing itself is part of the Country Index 2026, published under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photographs
The countries placed highest, from their profiles: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.
- Iceland — Hansueli Krapf, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Switzerland — Simon Koopmann derivative work: Jjtkk, CC BY-SA 2.0 de
- Austria — chensiyuan, CC BY-SA 4.0
Cite this page
Nations Inquiry (2026). Economy & Innovation: country standings, Country Index 2026. https://nationsinquiry.com/topics/economy