Bulgaria's position in the Global Innovation Index has remained unchanged at 38th place, but the country continues to see a decline in its performance across key indicators. The Bulgarian Industrial Chamber’s (BIC) annual analysis highlights that, unlike many other nations that have shown improvements in their innovation metrics, Bulgaria’s overall results have worsened for the second consecutive year. This trend is worrying, as it suggests that the country’s efforts to foster innovation and technological advancement are not yielding the expected results.

The Global Innovation Index evaluates the innovation landscape of countries based on various factors, offering valuable insights for policymakers aiming to improve national innovation strategies. Bulgaria’s stagnation in this ranking underscores significant challenges in its institutional, infrastructural, and business development sectors. For example, the country’s performance in the “Institutions” pillar has fallen sharply, dropping 17 places to 83rd position, where it now lags behind nations such as Ghana and Kazakhstan. This decline is attributed to the inefficiency of the country’s institutions, which hinders its overall innovation capacity.

One of the more promising areas, however, is the “Human and Research Capital” pillar, where Bulgaria has improved by four positions to 62nd place. Despite this progress, the country’s performance has weakened in key areas like education, where increasing spending per teacher has not translated into better outcomes for students, as evidenced by declining PISA test scores. In the “Infrastructure” pillar, Bulgaria saw a slight improvement, climbing six positions to 22nd, but it remains far behind in digital transformation, ranking 51st in ICT access, signaling the slow pace of technological adoption compared to other nations.

The “Mature Market Development” pillar also showed minimal improvement, with Bulgaria rising ten places to 50th. While the country has made progress in startup financing, its overall performance remains lackluster, especially in domestic lending and market size diversification. The business environment, which had been a strength in previous years, has deteriorated significantly, largely due to political instability and a lack of strategic reforms in education and R&D. Bulgaria’s ranking in “Science-Business” connectivity has collapsed, falling from 38th to 55th, and its position in cluster development has similarly declined, dropping out of the top 50.

Bulgaria has also made some progress in the “Creative Impact” pillar, where it has entered the top 30. The country’s performance in industrial design and the export of cultural services has improved, helping to offset some of the other declines. However, challenges remain in the areas of intangible assets and trademark registration, which have seen decreased rankings.

The report also highlights Bulgaria’s underperformance in emerging fields like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and space technologies, which are seen as critical for future global competitiveness. The country is at risk of falling behind in these sectors unless urgent reforms are implemented. The BIC warns that without systemic changes in education, innovation financing, and government support for research, Bulgaria will continue to lose ground in the global innovation race.

Despite these challenges, some areas of the economy have shown resilience. For example, high-tech production as a percentage of total production has improved, helping to boost Bulgaria’s position in the “Knowledge and Technological Impact” pillar. Nonetheless, the overall trend remains one of stagnation and decline, as the country struggles to keep pace with global advancements.

The innovation environment in Bulgaria faces several obstacles, including deep institutional crises, outdated education systems, and a lack of national resources to support innovation. The BIC’s analysis emphasizes that unless Bulgaria accelerates its reforms and improves its innovation ecosystem, it risks falling further behind in the global technological race. This stagnation could have long-term consequences for the country’s economic development and global positioning.

Sources:

• Bulgarian Industrial Chamber (BIC)
• Global Innovation Index.
• econ.bg