Nigeria has fallen to 118th place in the 2026 Global Innovation Index, down from 105th in 2025, according to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
Released on September 29, 2026, the index ranks 139 economies using 79 indicators covering research, infrastructure, investment, business activity, technology and creative outputs. Nigeria ranked 14th among 31 economies in Sub-Saharan Africa and 28th among 36 lower middle-income economies.
Mauritius led Sub-Saharan Africa at 50th globally, followed by South Africa at 63rd, Botswana at 82nd and Senegal at 90th. Rwanda placed 96th, while Kenya ranked 97th.
Despite the decline, Nigeria recorded strong positions in several indicators. It ranked 15th for its youth demographic dividend, 19th for domestic market scale and 19th for unicorn valuation as a share of gross domestic product. The country also ranked 37th for late-stage venture capital deal count as a share of global venture capital activity.
Nigeria performed better in innovation outputs than in innovation inputs. Outputs cover results such as knowledge creation, technology and creative activity, while inputs measure the conditions that support innovation, including institutions, research, infrastructure and investment. Nigeria ranked 96th for outputs and 128th for inputs, compared with 80th and 127th respectively in 2025.
WIPO found that Nigeria produced more innovation outputs than would normally be expected from its available inputs. However, its overall innovation performance remained below expectations for its level of economic development. These findings measure different aspects of the country’s performance.
Creative outputs were Nigeria’s strongest area, ranking 84th globally. Knowledge and technology outputs followed at 108th, while human capital and research ranked 113th. Its lowest-ranked areas were business sophistication at 126th, infrastructure and market sophistication at 123rd each, and institutions at 121st.
The profile also identified weaknesses in university–industry research collaboration, education expenditure and intellectual property receipts as a share of total trade. Nigeria ranked 132nd, 135th and 130th respectively in these indicators.
WIPO cautioned that data availability and changes to the index’s framework affect comparisons between years. Nigeria’s profile recorded missing data for 13 indicators and outdated data for 10, which should be considered when assessing its ranking.
Sources: WIPO’s Nigeria Country Profile and WIPO’s Global Innovation Index 2026 Announcement.
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