Portugal rises in the European innovation ranking. But is it enough?

The European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS) is the European Commission's official assessment of EU countries' performance regarding innovation. Based on 32 indicators — ranging from R&D investment to human capital, technological exports, and digital intensity — the EIS classifies Member States into four groups: Innovation Leaders, Strong Innovators, Moderate Innovators, and Emerging Innovators.

In the European Innovation Scoreboard 2025, published on 15 July, Portugal climbs to 16th place among the 27 EU countries, with 90.7% of the European average, consolidating itself as a “Moderate Innovator”. The progress is clear: up 3 positions compared to 2024 and a growth of 9 percentage points since 2018. But there are important nuances.

Among the most positive indicators, notable are the public support for business R&D, where we lead at the European level, the qualification of the population (namely in doctorates and lifelong learning), the good adoption of digital services, and environmental performance. There are also signs of scientific vitality: Portugal presents a high rate of international co-publications and attractiveness for foreign doctoral students.

However, structural gaps persist. Business innovation remains low-intensity, private expenditure on R&D falls short, venture capital represents only 36% of the EU average, and technology exports remain limited. Portuguese SMEs innovate, but they do not know how to do so in a structured and quantified way. Despite the effort, this lack of structure means there is no visibility of these R&D investments, which has the effect of stalling the diffusion of innovation throughout the economy.

Although these results show a country making progress, they also show a risk: that of stabilising at a medium level. The trajectory since 2020 (the year Portugal was classified as a “Strong Innovator”) shows fluctuations. In 2025, we recovered ground, but European growth was faster.

It is necessary to go beyond public funding. The private sector must assume greater prominence. There is good news: the startup ecosystem is growing (3.6 billion euros raised between 2020 and 2023) and new innovation hubs are emerging, such as the EIT Community Hub, in Lisbon. But to enter the group of “Strong Innovators”, Portugal will have to accelerate. Bet more on business R&D, scale innovation in SMEs, project value outwards, and consolidate regional hubs.

Portugal is, therefore, at a turning point. The improvement in the European Innovation Scoreboard 2025 is a sign of resilience and capacity, but also of a system that needs to consolidate its advances and accelerate structural reforms. Innovation is not just a goal — it is a strategic imperative for more sustainable, competitive, and inclusive economic growth.