Between North Macedonia and Montenegro: where does Bulgaria rank in innovation?

Ambitious statements about Bulgaria becoming an innovation hub in Southeastern Europe have been circulated for a year by the government, even more so since a special ministry dedicated to this purpose was created. The results, however, do not inspire much hope.

According to the European Innovation Index for 2024, Bulgaria has barely budged over the past eight years. To date, it ranks 33rd out of 39 countries ranked - right between North Macedonia (34) and Montenegro (32). Of the EU members, there is only one ranked lower - Romania (36).

Bulgaria is an emerging innovator with a score of 46% of the EU average in 2024," the analysis says.

With 50.6 points, Bulgaria scores below even the average for the group of emerging innovators. And its scores are increasing less than those of the EU, which have increased by 10 pp since 2017. Over the same period, Bulgaria has increased its score by 47.9, or less than 3pp.

Bulgaria has improved strongly since 2017 in terms of employment in innovative enterprises, an increasing share of foreign PhD students and good broadband penetration.

What the Innovation Index 2024 rankings look like

At the bottom of the ranking is Moldova, overtaken by Ukraine and Bosnia and Herzegovina. At the other end, Switzerland, which is not part of the EU, is at the top, followed by Denmark, Sweden, Finland and the Netherlands, also among the innovation leaders.

The broader analysis, including other European countries and selected global competitors, outlines a rather dynamic international landscape. South Korea remains the most innovative global competitor in 2024, while China is overtaking Japan and gradually closing the gap with the EU.

Innovation leaders have well-developed research systems and are strong in digitisation. Moderate innovators, on the other hand, show advanced R&D cooperation, while emerging innovators - despite the positive trajectory they are following - still lag behind overall.

Somewhat understandably, the countries in the different groups are also geographically similar. The Leaders and most of the Strong Innovators are mostly located in Northern and Western Europe, while many of the Moderates and Emerging are in Southern and Eastern Europe.