Norway in the European Innovation Scoreboard 2026: a strong innovation nation with room for improvement
European Innovation Scoreboard comprises 27 different indicators that are combined into an overall score. Norway ranks tenth, placing it in the ‘strong innovators’ group, where it has remained for the past few years. The ‘innovation leaders’ group tops the ranking and includes the other Nordic countries.
'This is not good enough. Norway has dropped another place after falling two places in last year’s report,' says Håkon Haugli, our CEO.
'The report shows that we are well behind our Nordic neighbours. We may be the best Nordic country at football, but we lag far behind them when it comes to innovation. If Norway is to succeed in its transition, we must close this gap. We need to see the same enthusiasm for Norwegian innovation as we have seen in recent weeks for the men’s national team’s performances at the FIFA World Cup.'
Norway performs above the average for strong innovators in the EU and neighbouring countries (115.7% compared with 112.5% of the EU average in 2026).
Strengths and weaknesses
The report highlights three strengths that position Norway as an innovation nation:
- Public-private co-publications
- International scientific co-publications
- Innovative SMEs that collaborate with others
It also highlights some of Norway's weaknesses as an innovation nation:
- Exports of medium- and high-tech products
- Design applications
- Trademark applications
‘The report confirms something we already knew. Norway excels at collaboration and research, but we are not good enough at commercialising our promising ideas. Our low scores for patent applications and technology exports show that we are missing out on significant value. We need to improve our ability to turn outstanding research into tangible, profitable export products. This means considering commercial opportunities earlier in the development process,’ says Haugli.
Framework conditions
The report highlights Norway's continued strong performance in framework conditions. Norway ranks ninth out of 40 countries for human resources, scoring 134.2% of the EU average. The share of people with higher education stands at 165% of the EU27 average, representing a record-high level of educational attainment. Norway remains an attractive destination for international doctoral students, while international scientific co-publications continue to be a key strength at 258% of the EU average. The report also highlights digitalisation as a strength, with Norway scoring 142.6% of the EU average and ranking third out of 40 countries.
‘Norway is well positioned, with a highly educated population and world-leading digital infrastructure. This gives us a solid foundation. But we must remember that digital skills need to be kept up to date. If we are to maintain this lead, we must continue to invest in digitalisation,’ says Haugli.
Investments
According to the report, however, the investment dimension is moving in the wrong direction. It fell by 15.6 percentage points to 99.6% of the EU average. Direct and indirect public support for business R&D fell by 28.5 percentage points to 84.3% of the EU average, while venture capital investment fell by 22.8 percentage points.
'Such a sharp decline is worrying. Private capital and targeted public funding instruments must work together, particularly in times of economic uncertainty. If we restrict investment in early-stage companies and R&D now, we risk slowing down the solutions we will depend on in the years ahead,' says Haugli.
Collaboration is a major strength
Norway continues to perform strongly in collaboration, ranking second among the 40 EIS countries with a score of 236.7% of the EU average. Innovative small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) collaborating with others scored 228.3% of the EU average, ranking third, while public-private co-publications reached 464.6% of the EU average – the most exceptional individual indicator in Norway's EIS results.
Intellectual assets remain a weakness in Norway's results, with a score of just 49.1% of the EU average, ranking 30th. PCT patent applications stand at 81% of the EU average, trademark applications at 41.8%, and design applications at just 13.3%. This weakness is closely linked to the structure of Norway's economy: the petroleum, maritime and seafood sectors dominate economic activity and export revenues, but are less patent-intensive than manufacturing or the pharmaceutical industry.
‘This year’s report gives us a clear direction. We have a solid foundation of strong research communities, advanced digital skills and a culture of collaboration. To achieve the necessary transformation of the Norwegian economy, we must be bold enough to invest in commercialisation and strengthen the private sector. The potential is there; now we must deliver. The need is urgent,’ says Haugli.