Innovation against the odds

Pakistan's commendable position in a recent ranking of innovation outputs is a quiet but telling illustration of the country's potential. Pakistan rose to 95th in the Global Innovation Index 2026, regaining "overperformer" status in the World Intellectual Property Rights Organisation's ranking of 139 economies. While the number may not seem high, it is a relative grade, illustrating how Pakistan generates far more innovation than its meagre inputs - we were 121st in innovation inputs, but 72nd in outputs.

That gap is a tribute to the talent, hustle and resourcefulness of Pakistani inventors and entrepreneurs. The strengths are also concrete and market-driven. Pakistan ranks 10th globally in mobile-app creation relative to GDP, 15th in ICT services exports and 19th in high-tech imports. Each of these numbers reflects a generation that has managed to do well despite creaky infrastructure, patchy policy and limited state support. At the same time, it also shows why local talent wants to leave - they are too good for what Pakistan has to offer them.

After all, the same Innovation Index also places Pakistan near the bottom on human capital, research and infrastructure. R&D spending is just 0.16% of GDP, patent filings lag badly, and startup funding - which was already miserly by international standards - has crashed. For the government, the "overperformer" label should be seen as an insult, not an achievement. Output strength cannot indefinitely compensate for input neglect. Pakistani innovators deserve more. The state must be willing to meet them halfway, either by directly funding more research or creating the conditions for investors to come in. Investment-related laws also need work to ensure that they are no longer avenues for shady lending, but do encourage honest, calculated risk-taking. Only then will Pakistan's innovators be able to achieve more, while also reflecting well on what their country did for them.