The European Innovation Scoreboard 2026 measures and compares the research and innovation performance of EU Member States and selected global competitors. It provides a snapshot of each country's strengths, weaknesses, and progress, helping policymakers identify where innovation ecosystems are thriving and where further investment is needed.
This article takes a closer look at how Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries performed in the 2026 European Innovation Scoreboard. To make comparisons easier, the countries are presented from the highest to the lowest innovation score, highlighting both the region's strongest innovation ecosystems and the areas where further progress is still needed.
CEE innovation snapshot
🏆 Innovation leader: Estonia remains the region's top performer, ranking 11th in the EU with a Summary Innovation Index of 108.6.
📈 Fastest annual improver: Latvia recorded the strongest year-on-year increase in the region (+2.8%), followed by Lithuania (+1.9%) and Estonia (+1.9%).
🚀 What CEE does best: Advanced manufacturing, high-tech exports, research collaboration and a growing pool of digital talent continue to define the region's innovation strengths.
⚠️ Biggest challenge: Across most CEE countries, venture capital availability, business R&D investment, and the comercialisation of research remain the biggest barriers to faster innovation growth.
📊 Innovation landscape: 1 Strong Innovator, 4 Moderate Innovators, and 6 Emerging Innovators make up this year's CEE ranking.
📈 Long-term growth: Since 2019, every CEE country has improved its innovation performance, led by Estonia (+19.8) and Lithuania (+19.7).
Estonia
Estonia remains the highest-performing innovation ecosystem in Central and Eastern Europe, ranking 11th among EU Member States with a Summary Innovation Index of 108.6. Classified as a Strong Innovator, the country improved its performance by 1.9% compared to 2025, remaining comfortably above the EU average.
Estonia's biggest advantage continues to be its startup ecosystem. The country ranks among Europe's leaders in venture capital investment, SME innovation and intellectual assets, reflecting its ability to turn ideas into scalable businesses. Strong public-private collaboration further reinforces this position. At the same time, government support for business R&D and resource productivity remain areas where additional progress could strengthen long-term competitiveness.
Slovenia
Slovenia continues to rank among the strongest innovation performers in Central and Eastern Europe, placing 17th among EU Member States with a Summary Innovation Index of 87.2. Classified as a Moderate Innovator, the country's innovation performance remained essentially unchanged compared to 2025.
Unlike Estonia, whose innovation model is built around startups and venture capital, Slovenia's strength lies in its ability to connect research with industry. The country is among the EU leaders in public-private co-publications, lifelong learning, and international scientific collaboration, reflecting a well-established knowledge ecosystem. At the same time, the report points to limited venture capital availability, low non-R&D innovation expenditure, and weak knowledge-intensive services exports as key obstacles to turning scientific excellence into faster business growth.
CEE AI Index 2026
AI Chamber, in partnership with The Recursive Media and collaboration of Europe Cloud, has launched the CEE AI Index 2026, the first index focused on assessing the ability of Central and Eastern European countries to develop, operate, and host AI efficiently, safely, and in a governed way.
Check the rankings!Czechia
Czechia remains one of Central and Eastern Europe's industrial innovation leaders, ranking 19th among EU Member States with a Summary Innovation Index of 79.1. Classified as a Moderate Innovator, the country recorded a 2.5% decline compared to 2025, performing below the average for its innovation group.
Rather than relying on a booming startup ecosystem, Czechia's innovation model is built on a strong manufacturing base. The country ranks 4th in the EU for exports of medium- and high-tech products and performs well in non-R&D innovation investment, digital skills and collaboration between innovative SMEs. However, one challenge stands out: venture capital investment remains among the lowest in the EU, making it harder for innovative companies to scale despite the country's solid industrial and research foundations.
Hungary
Hungary ranks 21st among EU Member States with a Summary Innovation Index of 72.1, remaining a Moderate Innovator. While the country has improved significantly since 2019, its innovation performance remained broadly stable in 2026, recording a slight 0.3% decline compared to the previous year.
Hungary's innovation strengths are closely tied to its industrial economy. The country ranks 5th in the EU for exports of medium- and high-tech products and performs strongly in digital skills, public-private research collaboration, and government support for business R&D. However, the report also points to persistent structural weaknesses, including low public R&D expenditure, limited design applications, and low employment in innovative enterprises, suggesting that stronger commercialisation and broader participation in innovation will be key to sustaining future growth.
Croatia
Croatia ranks 22nd among EU Member States with a Summary Innovation Index of 69.2, placing it in the Emerging Innovators group. Compared to 2025, the country's innovation performance declined slightly by 0.6%.
Croatia's strongest performance comes from public-private co-publications, high-tech imports from outside the EU, and innovation expenditures per person employed, highlighting the country's ability to foster research collaboration and support firm-level innovation investment. The country also recorded significant progress in digitalisation, with notable improvements in high-speed internet access and digital skills over the past year. However, venture capital availability, government support for business R&D, and knowledge-intensive services exports remain among Croatia's weakest areas, limiting the country's ability to scale innovative businesses and commercialise research. Overall, Croatia continues to strengthen parts of its innovation ecosystem, with attracting private investment and boosting business innovation remain key priorities.
Poland
Poland ranks 23rd among EU Member States with a Summary Innovation Index of 65.2, remaining an Emerging Innovator. While the country has improved significantly since 2019, its innovation performance declined by 1.5% compared to 2025, although it continues to perform above the average for the Emerging Innovators group.
As the region's largest economy, Poland combines steady digital progress with growing business innovation. The country stands out for its design applications, cloud computing adoption, and government support for business R&D, demonstrating continued investment in innovation capacity. However, venture capital investment, SMEs introducing product innovations, and the country's ability to attract foreign doctoral students remain among its weakest indicators, highlighting that stronger commercialisation and a more dynamic startup ecosystem will be crucial to unlocking its full innovation potential.
Slovakia
Slovakia ranks 24th among EU Member States with a Summary Innovation Index of 62.3, remaining an Emerging Innovator. The country improved its innovation performance by 1.0% compared to 2025 and continues to perform above the average for the Emerging Innovators group.
Slovakia's innovation ecosystem is closely linked to its export-oriented economy. The country ranks 2nd in the EU for exports of medium- and high-tech products and 7th for sales of new-to-market and new-to-firm innovations, showing a strong ability to bring innovative products to international markets. At the same time, low venture capital investment, limited mobility of highly skilled professionals and weaker research excellence continue to hold back the development of a more dynamic innovation ecosystem, suggesting that stronger support for startups and research commercialisation could complement Slovakia's industrial strengths
Latvia
Latvia ranks 25th among EU Member States with a Summary Innovation Index of 61.0, remaining an Emerging Innovator. The country improved its innovation performance by 2.8% compared to 2025, placing it above the average for the Emerging Innovators group.
Rather than excelling in a single area, Latvia's innovation ecosystem is built on steady progress across several dimensions. The country performs particularly well in trademark applications, where it ranks 6th in the EU, while also recording strong results in knowledge-intensive services exports and public-private research collaboration. However, low business R&D investment, limited government support for business R&D, and relatively low innovation spending per employee continue to constrain the country's innovation capacity, highlighting the need to encourage greater private-sector investment alongside its improving research and business linkages.
Lithuania
Lithuania ranks 18th among EU Member States with a Summary Innovation Index of 86.6, remaining a Moderate Innovator. The country improved its innovation performance by 1.9% compared to 2025, placing it slightly above the average for its innovation group.
Lithuania's innovation ecosystem is powered by its talent base. The country ranks 3rd in the EU for tertiary education attainment and 1st for job-to-job mobility of highly skilled professionals, while also performing strongly in ICT employment, cloud computing and business innovation. These strengths are helping Lithuania build a dynamic, knowledge-driven economy. At the same time, business R&D investment and knowledge-intensive services exports remain among the country's biggest challenges, highlighting the need to translate its strong human capital into greater commercial impact.
Bulgaria
Bulgaria ranks 26th among EU Member States with a Summary Innovation Index of 48.9, remaining an Emerging Innovator. The country's innovation performance declined by 1.1% compared to 2025, remaining below the average for its innovation group.
Despite its overall ranking, Bulgaria's innovation ecosystem shows promising signs of momentum. The country performs strongly in trademark applications (7th in the EU), high-speed internet access (9th) and high-tech imports from outside the EU (9th), while the report also highlights Bulgaria as an emerging entrepreneurial hub in Southeast Europe, with more than €1 billion invested in startups between 2020 and 2025 and the highest number of funded startups per capita in the region. At the same time, fragmented research institutions, low labour productivity, and limited government support for business R&D continue to hold back the country's ability to translate entrepreneurial activity into broader innovation performance.
Romania
Romania ranks 27th among EU Member States with a Summary Innovation Index of 41.8, remaining an Emerging Innovator. Despite holding the lowest position in the EU ranking, the country's innovation performance improved by 1.4% compared to 2025, reflecting gradual progress across several key indicators.
Romania's innovation profile is marked by strong digital infrastructure rather than research performance. The country ranks 4th in the EU for high-speed internet access and 3rd for high-tech imports from outside the EU, providing a solid foundation for future innovation-driven growth. However, persistent weaknesses in tertiary education, business innovation, and private R&D investment continue to limit its overall performance. Bridging these structural gaps will be essential if Romania is to translate its digital potential into a stronger and more competitive innovation ecosystem.
All data in this article is drawn from the European Innovation Scoreboard 2026 and its individual country profiles, published by the European Commission's Directorate-General for Research and Innovation (manuscript completed July 2026). Figures are indexed to the EU average in 2026, and all rankings refer to the 27 EU Member States.
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