Catalonia moves up as a Strongly Innovative European Region and leads Spain

Catalonia has significantly strengthened its innovation performance in the European Commission’s Regional Innovation Scoreboard 2025 (RIS), consolidating its position among Europe’s leading regions. With a score of 110.7 (EU average = 100), Catalonia moves up from the "Strong Innovator (-)" category to the "Strong Innovator (middle)" group, and now leads all Spanish regions in innovation.

“These results reinforce Catalonia’s position as a fertile ground for the development of innovative projects”

Miquel Sàmper, Minister for Business and Labor of the Government of Catalonia

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According to the Minister for Business and Labor of the Government of Catalonia, Miquel Sàmper, "these results reinforce Catalonia’s position as a fertile ground for the development of innovative projects". He highlighted the Government’s ongoing efforts "to strengthen the connection between research and the market, as well as to foster an innovation-driven culture within the business community through various programs and support initiatives led by ACCIÓ-Catalonia Trade & Investment".

The region has improved its ranking by nine positions since the previous edition in 2023, rising from 81st to 72nd out of 241 regions assessed across Europe.

This performance places Catalonia ahead of other Spanish regions such as the Basque Country (score: 108.1, now ranked 81st) and the Madrid Region (score: 106.1, ranked 90th).

Key drivers of Catalonia’s improved ranking include strong results in:

• Scientific publications.
• Industrial design and trademark applications.
• Sales of innovative products.
• Higher education attainment.
• Broadband access.
• Continuous lifelong learning (up by 31.6 points).
• Employment in ICT services (up by 26.5 points).

These advances have pushed Catalonia above the EU average in several areas for the first time. Catalonia’s steady upward trajectory in the RIS reflects its dynamic innovation ecosystem, international openness, and commitment to strengthening its knowledge economy.

The RIS is a regional extension of the European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS), designed to assess the innovation performance of European regions based on a set of 23 indicators. The 2025 edition covers 241 regions from EU countries as well as Norway, Serbia, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

Source: European Commission’s Regional Innovation Scoreboard 2025