Kazakhstan Jumps Eight Places in Innovation Ranking—and Already Has Two Global Top-10 Strengths

The best result in a decade

Kazakhstan has risen from 81st to 73rd in the 2026 Global Innovation Index, which covers 139 economies. The country entered the top 80, moved to second place in Central and Southern Asia and retained first place in Central Asia.

Its largest improvement came in knowledge and technology outputs, where it moved from 87th to 69th. The index looks beyond headline startups and evaluates a broad system that includes education, infrastructure, research, patents, digital services, production and exports.

Where the country is strongest

Kazakhstan ranks seventh globally for utility models relative to the size of its economy. Online government services rank tenth, labour-productivity growth twentieth and high-tech exports twenty-seventh. These strengths help explain the eight-place jump.

The ranking is not a certificate that every part of the innovation economy is mature. Registering an invention does not mean it has reached production, and a strong e-government platform does not by itself create a market for advanced equipment. The key test is whether research and prototypes become companies, jobs and export revenue.

The next challenge

The 2026 index focuses on entrepreneurs who turn frontier science into scalable solutions. For Kazakhstan, that makes links between universities and industry, access to laboratories, intellectual-property protection and a clear route from testing to procurement especially important.

The rise is a positive signal and a useful benchmark. The real test begins when a patent, paper or student prototype becomes a product used at home and sold abroad.

Source: Kazakhstan Ministry of Science and Higher Education