Singapore is now the world’s most innovative country, overtaking over 70 nations across the globe. The recognition came from the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), who placed the city-state at the top of its Global Innovation Scorecard released earlier in January.
The list is a biennial ranking of 74 countries and the European Union by the association. “As CTA is an American association, the criteria selected admittedly reflect a United States viewpoint. We recognize that bias, but counter it with transparency, reliance on third-party sources and an eagerness to accept input on the criteria for future editions,” the association said.
According to CTA, The 2025 Global Innovation scores 74 countries plus the European Union in 16 categories, with 56 indicators.
Singapore received the highest composite score out of 25 countries that were named global innovation champions. The city-state surged ahead by 14 ranks — from 14 in 2023 to 1 in 2025.
It beat the likes of the US, New Zealand, Sweden and Switzerland to take the top spot.
Singapore received the Global Innovation Champion award on January 9 at the 2025 edition of CES the world’s largest tech fair. The edition took place in Las Vegas.
Presenting the latest findings, CTA CEO and Vice Chair Gary Shapiro said, “Technological innovation always chases the most challenging human problems in health, our environment, food and water availability, mobility and communities. But governments need to encourage innovators by providing them an environment in which to experiment, fail, pivot and succeed. As I share in CTA’s latest book, Pivot or Die, government, business and our personal decisions make the difference on our path to success. Success, for us, means ensuring that humanity continues to benefit from the innovations that solve our biggest problems. The future belongs to those who embrace it, and the 2025 Global Innovation Scorecard offers a glimpse of which countries they might be.”
According to the CTA, in the 2025 edition of the Global Innovation Scorecard, the association measures countries on the basis of the political, economic and demographic realities that make them better places to invent the future.
Singapore received top grades in four of the 16 categories measured: business environment resilience and data transparency; the pro-innovation nature of its legal environment; its friendliness towards start-ups and small businesses; and its tax policies for companies.
Apart from these, the city-state did well in other categories.
Meanwhile, hailing the achievement, Singapore’s trade agency Enterprise Singapore said on Facebook that the country is proud to be the highest-scoring innovation champion.
“First in class!
“Singapore is proud to be the highest-scoring Innovation Champion at #CES2025 – the world’s largest #tech event happening now in Las Vegas, USA.
“The Consumer Technology Association (CTA) evaluated 74 countries across 16 categories, and this top honour recognises Singapore’s skilled workforce, advanced broadband connectivity, entrepreneurial climate, and openness to new technologies.
“Enterprise Singapore is happy to support Association of Small & Medium Enterprises – ASME and our 11 trailblazers who have brought their A-game to CES2025. Firms like E3A Healthcare, which developed #AI-powered non-invasive medical devices for jaundice care, home fetal monitoring, and endometriosis treatment; Metaoptics, which manufactured the world’s first single-layered metalens colour camera capable of capturing coloured images and conducting face recognition; and Emage, which developed TOMO, a humanoid robot capable of performing intricate in manufacturing environments, will be showcasing their #innovation to global leaders and industry executives,” it said.
