TEHRAN -According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Technology and Innovation Report 2025, Iran is ranked among upper middle-income countries, ranking 72 among 166 countries.

The country’s ranking has improved by one position compared to 2022. 

UNCTAD has categorized 17 types of technologies as frontier technologies including artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, big data, 5G, 3D printing, robotics, drone technology, solar photovoltaic, concentrated solar power, biofuels, biogas and biomass, wind energy, green hydrogen, electric vehicles, nanotechnology and gene editing.

The Technology and Innovation Report 2025: Inclusive Artificial Intelligence for Development surveys the complex artificial intelligence landscape, aiming to help decision-makers design science, technology, and innovation policies that foster inclusive technological progress.

The Report 2025 calls for AI that puts people first and is shaped through global cooperation in which all countries have a say. The Report identifies three key leverage points – infrastructure, data, and skills – offering a broad socioeconomic perspective on AI while analyzing requirements and policies to promote sustainable industrialization and innovation.

The sub-indices of readiness for frontier technologies in 2025 show that Iran's best ranking is in the research and development sub-index (35th in the world). 

In the finance sub-index, the country’s ranking has improved from 62 in 2022 to 56 in 2025. In other sub-indexes like skills, and the establishment of information and communication technology, its ranking has lowered from 74, and 78 in 2022 to 82, and 94 in 2025, respectively.

GII 2024: Iran moves up in technology output, business sophistication

According to the 2024 edition of the Global Innovation Index (GII) report, the Islamic Republic of Iran’s ranking in knowledge and technology output, as well as business sophistication has improved from 55 and 117 in 2023 to 49 and 110 in 2024, respectively.

Also, the country’s ranking in market sophistication and infrastructure has risen by two positions from 19 and 97 in 2023 to 17 and 95 in 2024.

However, Iran’s ranking in creative output, human research, and capital, as well as institutions has lowered compared to 2023.

The Global Innovation Index ranks the world’s leading economies according to their innovation capabilities.

According to this year’s report, Iran ranks second among the countries of the Central and Southern Asian region, unchanged compared with the last two years.

India and Kazakhstan ranked first and third, respectively.

Iran ranks 5 among the 38 lower-middle-income group economies, which has improved compared to the 2023 ranking (6).

However, the country’s ranking, among the 133 economies featured in the GII 2024, has dropped from 62 in 2023 to 64 this year.

Switzerland secured the first rank in the GII 2024 report with a score of 67.5 for the 14th consecutive year, closely followed by Sweden and the U.S. at the second and third positions with scores of 64.5 and 62.4, respectively.

As stated in the 2024 edition, over the past four years (2020-2024), the statistical confidence interval for the ranking of Iran in the GII 2024 is between ranks 56 and 80.

Iran performed better in innovation outputs (48) than in innovation inputs (85) in 2024.

Published by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the report ranks Iran first in Market capitalization, and Trademarks by origin.

MT/MG