Belgium has earned the distinction of being named the fifth most innovative country in the European Union, largely due to its successful public-private partnerships and its ability to attract foreign doctoral students, placing it among Europe's top five "innovation leaders."

According to the European Innovation Scoreboard 2023, an annual publication by the EU, Belgium's overall innovation performance surpasses the European average by 125.8%. Moreover, Belgium has shown significant improvement in innovation performance, with a 14.1% increase between 2016 and 2023, outpacing the European average of 8.5%.

Compared to its neighboring countries, Belgium performed exceptionally well, ranking ahead of Germany (7th), Luxembourg (8th), and France (11th), though narrowly trailing behind the Netherlands, which secured the 4th position.

The study highlights that Northern European countries stand out for their innovation, with Denmark leading as the EU's most innovative Member State, followed by Sweden and Finland. Conversely, Eastern and Central European countries generally exhibit lower innovation levels, with Romania recording the lowest innovation performance score in the EU, followed by Bulgaria, Latvia, Poland, and Slovakia.

Belgium's robust innovation performance is attributed to factors such as increased enrollment of foreign doctoral students, innovative practices among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and substantial investments in non-R&D innovation.

Furthermore, Brussels serves as a crucial innovation hub not only for Belgium but also for much of Europe. Innoviris, a government organization supporting research and innovation in Brussels, notes that the study underscores Brussels' growing prominence as an innovation leader in Europe, experiencing significant growth compared to other regions in Belgium.