Germany has stagnated in innovation rankings as its competitors advance

Germany’s innovation capacity has stagnated, with the country still ranked 12th in innovation rankings, while rivals including the United States, Britain and France made significant progress, a study showed on Tuesday.

Innovation Indicators 2025, presented by German industry association BDI and consultancy Roland Berger, found that Germany is particularly weak in future technologies including digitalization and biotechnology.

The main problem is that corporate research and development spending in Germany is growing less dynamically than in other countries, especially in terms of digitalization, which lags behind the United States and China.

The ranking, which analyzes the innovation capacity of large countries since 2005, is again led by small, highly specialized countries: Switzerland in first place, Singapore in second and Denmark in third.

Germany ranks fourth in key technology areas overall and is among the top five in four of seven technology areas including circular economy, new materials and new production technologies.

But in key future-oriented areas, Germany lags behind: seventh in digital hardware, 10th in digital networks and 15th in biotechnology.

“We must dare to think big, that is the only way to trigger new innovation dynamics,” said BDI President Peter Leibinger.

“We must realize the first functional prototype for a fusion reactor by 2040 or become a leader in AI for industry.”
Source: Reuters