Methodology

We consider demographic factors, such as the share of immigrants in a country’s population and the gender equality of its workforce, the availability of high-skilled workers, and the ease with which its people can start new businesses. We look at political and cultural dimensions, including the freedom of religion, movement, information and expression. We evaluate the health of a country’s environment, including the quality of its air and water. We consider a country’s legal climate, the extent of official corruption, and the health of its regulatory enforcement efforts and civil justice institutions.

We evaluate whether governments impose arbitrary restrictions about where data is routed and stored. We consider whether governments place unduly onerous restrictions on or single out widespread Web 2.0 technologies, such as social media platforms, and also whether they welcome Web 3.0 technologies, such as cryptocurrencies, dapps and Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs).

Finally, we consider a country’s rules surrounding technological trade, and emerging technologies of great potential benefit, such as Telehealth and Self-Driving Vehicles.

All third-party sources and policy inputs reflect the latest information available as of August 23, 2024. As always, we welcome your comments and feedback by email at scorecard@cta.tech.

Eligibility of Countries

In the 2025 Global Innovation Scorecard, CTA evaluates countries for which:

• Publicly available, verifiable and independent third-party data exists;
• Comparable data across nations exists; and
• Governments can influence public policy.

European Union

Under the treaties on which the European Economic Community is based, the European Union establishes policies in certain areas, but allows its member states to establish policies of their own in others. This presents a challenge when evaluating EU states, as they must be evaluated on their merits, but also should not be penalized for policies they themselves have not chosen to enact. As a result, CTA has both graded the EU in its entirety, and evaluated each of its 27 member states individually, on the respective indicators in each category.