Cyprus: Cyprus has recorded an improvement in its overall performance and a recovery across several indicators in the European Innovation Scoreboard 2026, published by the European Commission on Thursday, 9 July. The annual report assesses the performance of innovation ecosystems across Europe. Cyprus ranks 16th among the European Union (EU) Member States, moving up one place compared with 2025.
According to Cyprus News Agency, Cyprus remains in the "Moderate Innovators" category, but its performance is well above the average for that group, scoring 92.1% compared with the group average of 86.4%. Compared with 2025, the country's overall score increased by 4.1 points, representing the third-largest annual improvement among EU Member States.
A particularly strong performance was recorded in the "Innovators" dimension, where Cyprus ranked 1st in the EU, a remarkable rise from 15th place in the previous year. This dimension measures the innovation performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), focusing on the introduction of innovative products and business processes.
Cyprus also performed strongly in the "Linkages" dimension, ranking 2nd among EU Member States, up from 10th place in 2025. This dimension evaluates key indicators reflecting collaboration and knowledge diffusion within the innovation ecosystem, including partnerships between innovative SMEs, public-private scientific co-publications, and the mobility of highly skilled science and technology professionals.
The country also continues to demonstrate strong research performance, ranking 5th in the EU in indicators related to international research collaboration and the quality of scientific output. Specifically, Cyprus ranks 3rd in international scientific co-publications and 6th in highly cited scientific publications.
Despite the positive results, the European Innovation Scoreboard 2026 also highlights structural challenges that continue to affect the country's performance. These include the need to further strengthen investment in Research and Development, particularly private-sector investment, improve businesses' access to finance and growth capital, and reinforce the country's production base in medium- and high-technology products.
The Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy stated that it continues to design and implement policies aimed at strengthening Cyprus' research and innovation ecosystem. These efforts focus on creating more favourable conditions for investment in research, knowledge transfer, business innovation, and the growth of innovative enterprises, while addressing areas where further improvement is needed.
As part of this strategy, several major initiatives are underway, including the development of a new high-performance computing infrastructure in strategic partnership with NVIDIA, the Pharos-CY AI Factory Antenna, and the establishment of a Plug and Play Innovation Centre in Cyprus. These initiatives are expected to enhance the Cypriot innovation ecosystem's access to advanced artificial intelligence technologies, international innovation networks, acceleration services, and global investment and funding opportunities.
"Research and innovation are fundamental pillars of the country's development strategy. The continuous improvement of Cyprus' performance in European innovation indicators is not an end in itself, but part of a systematic effort to build a more competitive, productive and resilient economy that creates greater opportunities for businesses, researchers and citizens," the Deputy Ministry said in its statement.