The 2025 European Innovation Scoreboard ranked Serbia as an emerging innovator, with performance at 51.5 per cent of the European Union average in 2025.
Out of 39 European countries, the report states, Serbia ranks 31st, ahead of Montenegro (33rd), North Macedonia (34th), Albania (35th) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (38th).
The report identifies well-developed areas in Serbia such as the high share of small and medium-sized enterprises introducing innovations in products and business processes, as well as significant employment in innovative companies.
Since 2018, Serbia has recorded visible growth in areas such as cloud-based computer services, an increase in the number of information and communication technology professionals, and the strengthening of cooperation networks among innovative small and medium-sized enterprises.
What are the challenges?
Despite this progress, the country still faces serious challenges. These include the import of high-tech products from non-EU countries, registration of industrial designs under intellectual property protection, and labour productivity - in all of these areas, results remain significantly below the EU average.
Regarding individual indicators, Serbia ranks near the bottom in resource productivity, carbon dioxide emissions from production, and the number of registered trademarks. While international scientific co-publications and participation in the most-cited publications are on the rise, there are still problems in skills development. There is an increase in the number of university-educated citizens, but at the same time, the rate of lifelong learning, the number of new doctoral students, and the level of digital skills among the population are declining.
The report notes that innovation results in Western Balkan countries continue to grow, but the region on average still lags behind the European Union.
The document covers EU member states and other European countries, divided into four categories: innovation leaders (above 125% of the EU average), strong innovators (100-125%), moderate innovators (70-100%), and emerging innovators (below 70%). Switzerland tops the list, with Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Finland also among the leaders.
