The Shenzhen–Hong Kong–Guangzhou region has been named the world’s top innovation clusters according to the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2025 Ranking of World's top 100 Innovation Clusters published by the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO).
This latest ranking of top 100 innovation clusters is based on three metrics: the location of inventors listed in published patent applications under the WIPO Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT); the authors listed on published scientific articles and venture capital (VC) deal locations.
"Innovation clusters – whether innovation-driven cities or regions – form the beating heart of national innovation systems. These hubs unite top universities, researchers, inventors, venture
capitalists and R&D firms in driving forward breakthrough ideas," the WIPO report said.
It said the top 100 innovation clusters collectively account for roughly 70% of global patent filings and VC deal activity, and around half of all scientific publications.
China, for the third year running leads with 24 clusters while the US follows on 22; Germany continues to rank third with seven clusters including Munich, Berlin and Cologne, while the UK has four clusters in the top 100 with London, Cambridge and Oxford plus new entrant Manchester.
This methodology, new for 2025, says the WIPO allows the GII to capture entrepreneurial activity and innovation finance, emphasizing start-ups and spin-offs. Together, these three metrics reveal those areas where there is a high concentration of inventors, scientific authors, and VC activity. "The clusters identified in this way often span several municipal districts, sub-federal states, and sometimes even two or more countries," the report said.
Leading the list, the world’s top five innovative clusters are: Shenzhen–Hong Kong–Guangzhou (China and Hong Kong, China); followed by Tokyo–Yokohama (Japan); San Jose–San Francisco (US); Beijing (China); and Seoul (Republic of Korea).
The GII indicates that the Shenzhen–Hong Kong–Guangzhou cluster filed 2,292 patent applications, published 3,775 scientific articles and had 135 venture capital deals, per one million inhabitants, over the last five years. In the area of patents, the majority from this cluster, 26%, were in the area of digital communications, while in terms of published papers, the largest single category was chemistry, followed by engineering. The top publishing body in this cluster was Sun Yat Sen University.
Across the Tokyo–Yokohama cluster 3,707 patent applications were filed and 3,176 scientific articles were published and 141 venture capital deals were struck, per one million inhabitants over five years. This cluster produced the largest proportion of its patents, 10%, in computer technology, while the largest proportion of defined published papers were in chemistry, at 15%. The top publishing body was University of Tokyo.
Last year's index ranked Tokyo–Yokohama top: the report said that the methodology change has contributed to having a new top-ranked cluster for 2025, reflecting that Shenzhen–Hong Kong–Guangzhou performs more strongly on VC deals compared to Tokyo–Yokohama. "However, both clusters continue to make a massive contribution to global scientific publications and patenting outputs, together accounting for nearly one in every five PCT applications filed globally," it said.
The San Jose–San Francisco cluster filed 8,132 patent applications, published 9,044 scientific articles and landed 2,608 venture capital deals. In terms of innovation intensity, it ranks number one with 23% of patents being filed in the computer technology space and 14% of published papers classified as ‘technology’. Here the top publishing institution is Stanford University.
The Beijing cluster filed 2,555 patent applications, published 17,031 scientific articles and had 345 venture capital deals, and ranked 18th in the world in terms of innovation intensity. Of the patents filed, 30% were in digital communications, while 20% of published papers were in engineering (with 15% in chemistry) and the top publishing institution was Tsinghua University.
The Seoul cluster filed 2,699 PCT applications, published 5,393 scientific articles and had 279 venture capital deals, per one million inhabitants over the last five years. In terms of innovation intensity, it ranked 28 in 2025. Of the patents filed, the highest defined proportion was in digital communications, 14%, while chemistry ,16%, led in the area of publications. The top publishing institution was Seoul National University.
The first Europe-based cluster to make the list is London, coming in at number eight. This cluster is the top-ranked cluster, out of four British clusters. It filed 671 PCT applications, published 5,497 scientific articles and had 1,001 venture capital deals, per one million inhabitants over the last five years. In terms of innovation intensity, the London cluster ranks 19th in the world. Patent filings in this cluster were led by “other consumer goods” accounting for 19%, while 16% of publications were on clinical medicine. University College London was the top publishing institution.
The UK features strongly in the GII’s top five, coming in at number two and five, when it comes to innovation clusters with the most intense activity. This grouping comprises: San Jose–San Francisco cluster (US); Cambridge (UK); Boston–Cambridge (US); Ningde (China) and Oxford (UK).
The WIPO notes that when focusing on innovation intensity — which accounts for patent filings, scientific publications and VC deals relative to population — North American clusters tend to outperform their Asian and EU counterparts, especially in respect to higher VC activity. However, the UK stands out as a strong performer in Europe, with Cambridge (2nd), Oxford (5th), and London (19th) consistently ranking among the most intense innovation hubs globally.
The GII also highlights that there are an additional 137 clusters, outside the top 100, that have “an appreciably high level of science, technology and innovation finance.” Of these, the top three are: Riyadh in Saudi Arabia (101); Hyderabad, India (102); and Lausanne, Switzerland, (103).
The research also found that R&D growth fell to 2.9% in 2024, a slowdown from the 4.4% increase in the year prior, with growth projected by WIPO to slow further in 2025 to 2.3%.
Corporate R&D spending in real terms slowed to 1% due to persistently high inflation, a level far below the 4.6% average of the past decade. Tech-related firms (particularly in AI), software and pharma firms expanded R&D budgets, while manufacturing firms such as those in the automotive sector and consumer goods cut R&D.
"While we see encouraging signs of recovery in areas such as innovation uptake and impact, the global innovation engine is not firing on all cylinders. Slower growth in R&D investments and declining VC activity reminds us that innovation requires sustained upstream and financial commitment," said WIPO Director General Daren Tang.
Further reading on science and innovation
- WIPO report puts UK among most innovative countries
- European innovation remains strong but warning signs appear
- Innovation is key to growth. So why is it getting harder to do?
- Pharma R&D: Why the UK is losing the investment race
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