The Brussels-Capital Region Confirms Its Position as an Innovation Leader in Europe
In the 2025 European Innovation Scoreboard – Regional Edition, the Brussels-Capital Region continues to play a pioneering role in innovation within Belgium.
According to the recently published results of the 2025 European Innovation Scoreboard, Brussels ranks 30th, placing it among the 38 “Innovation Leaders” out of a total of 241 European regions. The Brussels-Capital Region achieved a score of 128, well above the European average, and marked an improvement of 3.2 points compared to 2023.
Brussels, a Regional Innovation Engine
Regional innovation systems are, according to many academic studies and policy reports, key drivers of economic development. Public and private investments made in Brussels are bearing fruit. Compared to the European average, Brussels stands out particularly for:
✅ First place in Europe for international scientific co-publications
✅ Outstanding performance in innovation expenditure per employee — the highest of all European regions
✅ Strong collaboration between innovative SMEs, research institutions, and partners
✅ Positive growth in ICT employment
The Smart Specialisation Strategy is working: the Brussels-Capital Region continues to invest in a sustainable and forward-looking innovation system, placing entrepreneurship, research, and cooperation at the core of its priorities.
Stefaan Sonck Thiebaut, CEO of Innoviris:
“As a public organisation, we invest strategically in high-impact ideas — from research to practical applications. Regional investments in research and innovation have a significant leverage effect. Without our support, many promising projects simply wouldn’t get off the ground in Brussels. In this way, we accelerate innovation within companies, promote the application of scientific knowledge in public policy, and maintain Brussels’ attractiveness for top researchers and entrepreneurs.”
Barbara Trachte, Secretary of State for Economic Transition and Scientific Research in the Government of the Brussels-Capital Region:
“By once again ranking Brussels among the ‘Innovation Leaders’, the European Commission confirms the status of our Research and Innovation ecosystem. We can only be pleased about this. It is also a sign that the work done by Innoviris to support the transition is bearing fruit. This invites us to further develop the impact-driven model that has been established to meet tomorrow’s social and environmental challenges, while continuing to strengthen our Region’s economic attractiveness.”
Read the full European Commission report on Belgium
Check out the 2024 annual report from Innoviris, including all actions, results, and a selection of projects
Note: About the European Innovation Scoreboard – Regional Edition
The 2025 Regional Innovation Scoreboard follows the methodology of the European Innovation Scoreboard 2025. It is based on data from 241 European regions, using 23 out of the 32 indicators included in the European version.
European regions are classified into four groups based on their innovation performance, measured using the Regional Innovation Index:
- Innovation Leaders (38 regions), with Brussels ranked 30th
- Strong Innovators (69 regions)
- Moderate Innovators (74 regions)
- Emerging Innovators (60 regions)
Photo credit: Jean-Paul Remy (via Visit)