October the 20th, 2026 – Despite being the home of many successful startups, Croatia keeps on lagging further and further behind on the innovation ranking.
Croatia has unfortunately fallen six places on the Global Innovation Index ranking for 2026 and is now in 46th place among 139 countries. Index reports that the Academic Trade Union warns that such a result is a consequence of the Government’s poor economic and innovation policy, and particularly highlights the weak cooperation between universities and the economy. It is calling for the establishment of a special ministry that would deal with higher education, science and innovation.
According to the latest report of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), Croatia was in 40th place last year and this year has fallen to 46th. Of the 39 European economies covered by the research it is in 28th place. The Academic Trade Union considers this to be yet another warning that Croatia must change the way it develops the economy, science and higher education.
croatia is getting further behind european innovation leaders
The Global Innovation Index compares economies according to approximately 80 indicators, among which are investments in research and development, education, technology, the business environment and the application of innovations. Switzerland is in a highly impressive first place for the 16th year in a row, followed by Sweden and the United States of America.
In fourth place came South Korea, fifth Singapore, sixth the United Kingdom, seventh the Netherlands, eighth Finland, ninth Denmark, and tenth China. The Academic Trade Union warns that Croatia lags behind European economies in all the main areas assessed by the index.
croatia has nowhere near enough cooperation between universities and industry
According to the trade union, one of Croatia’s greatest weaknesses is the cooperation between universities and industry, for which they point out that Croatia is only in 84th place. Connecting research with production and entrepreneurship should, they believe, be one of the foundations of economic development. The trade union stresses that for years it has been warning the Croatian Government of the need for better linking of the academic community and the economy, but that its proposals are not being implemented. For these exceptionally poor results, they hold the responsible officials accountable, especially the leadership of the Ministry of Science, Education and Youth. They claim that the responsible persons insufficiently follow the results of international research and do not understand the importance of innovations for the development of the economy.
is a new ministry on the horizon?
The Academic Trade Union proposes the establishment of a Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation. The new ministry, according to their proposal, should coordinate the work of the National Innovation Council and encourage cooperation between universities, scientific institutions and companies. The trade union demands that innovation become the third fundamental task of universities, alongside education and scientific work. It also proposes the adoption of a Law on Innovation that would regulate the financing and functioning of the Croatian innovation system.
could croatia’s investment in r&d ever equal 3% of gdp?
Among the trade union’s proposals is an increase in investment in research and development to 3 percent of Croatian GDP. They also demand a doubling of the number of researchers employed in the economy, especially holders of doctorates, so that Croatia can reduce the lag behind the European Union average. The new ministry should also facilitate the coordination of different state institutions when it comes to innovation, the application of new technologies and their transfer from scientific institutions into the economy. The Academic Trade Union considers that such changes would enable stronger development of industry, increase its contribution to the economy and in the long term contribute to the growth of the standard of living. They called on the government to accept their proposals and change the previous policy of developing science, higher education and innovation.
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