Tehran Slips to 65th in Global Innovation Ranking as Iran Courts Thailand on ICT

Tehran ranked 65th among the world's top 100 science and technology clusters in the Global Innovation Index 2026, down from 63rd a year earlier, according to the UN's World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

The slip came the same week Iranian and Thai officials moved to deepen technology ties. Deputy ICT Minister Mohammad-Hafez Hakami met Thai Ambassador to Iran Sake Nopthaisong on Tuesday, IRNA reported. Both sides called for expanding cooperation in information and communication technology, boosting regional and international interactions, and developing a memorandum of understanding.

Nopthaisong highlighted the longstanding partnership between Iran and Thailand and called for continued cooperation. He said that since his appointment as ambassador to Tehran, he has been interested in getting familiar with Iran's accomplishments and capacities in fields like artificial intelligence, digital transformation, and emerging technologies.

Hakami pointed to the Asia-Pacific Telecommunity (APT), whose headquarters sit in Bangkok, saying Thailand plays a significant role in strengthening regional technological cooperation. He suggested the two nations use their combined capacities to develop interactions.

What do the GII numbers show for Tehran?

The WIPO rankings rely on three metrics: locations of inventors in Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) applications, affiliations of published scientific authors, and locations of venture-backed companies. The GII 2026, themed "Powering entrepreneurs at the frontier of science," examines how scientific breakthroughs become deep science startups and spinouts.

Tehran's 2026 scoreboard, per IRNA:

• 405 PCT applications (0.0 percent of the global share)
• 58,732 scientific publications (0.7 percent of the global share)
• 107 venture capital deals (0.0 percent of the global share)
• 65th by size and 88th by intensity, down from 63rd and 85th in 2025

The cluster's population stands at an estimated 7,852,733, with 52 PCT applications per capita and 7,497 scientific publications per capita. Venture capital pre-deals per capita run at about 14, and the total innovation intensity share per capita is 0.097.

Tehran is Iran's only cluster in the top 100. Six other middle-income economies beyond China and India placed clusters in the ranking: Brazil (1), Iran (1), Egypt (1), Malaysia (2), Mexico (1), and Turkey (1).

Medical technology led Tehran's patent registrations with a 19 percent share, followed by computer technology, civil engineering, and pharmaceuticals. The University of Tehran topped publishing with 5,232 articles, ahead of Islamic Azad University at 4,081 and Iran University of Science and Technology at 3,725. Most published articles fall in engineering fields.

How strong is Iran's startup ecosystem?

StartupBlink's 2026 ranking moved Tehran up 20 spots to 348th among the world's most innovative cities. The city hosts 96 startups — 81 percent of Iran's total — roughly one startup per 100,000 people. The ecosystem grew more than 36 percent in 2025. Tehran holds the top spot in Iran and ranks 11th in West Asia, up two places since 2025.

Iran Innovation Zone credited the result to strengthened innovation infrastructure and deeper interactions across the knowledge-based economy, Mehr reported.

StartupBlink highlighted Pardis Technology Park, the country's largest technology and innovation hub, as a driving force. The park hosts hundreds of knowledge-based and technology companies and stages the annual International Innovation and Technology Exhibition (INOTEX). Thanks to Pardis's capacities, Iran's startup ecosystem ranks 95th globally, the report said.

The Innovation and Prosperity Fund and MCI (Hamrah Aval – Iran's first mobile operator) Ventures round out the key agents developing the ecosystem.

Iran ranks 58th globally in 'Corporate Engagement,' an indicator of interactions between large industries and innovative companies. Fintech leads the country's industries at 72nd globally and 5th in the Middle East, with 23 startups representing 19 percent of Iran's total.

In the Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2026, Iran ranks 103rd worldwide, unchanged year over year, and 10th in West Asia — right after Oman and ahead of Iraq. The country counts 118 startups, one percent of the Middle East's total, about one per 100,000 people. The ecosystem grew 54.4 percent over the past year.

Whether a Tehran-Bangkok ICT memorandum can convert that growth into a bigger share of global patents and venture deals is the question the next GII edition will answer.