The Party and the State have clearly defined the direction of transforming Vietnam’s growth model from relying on increased input factors to one based on productivity, labor quality, science, technology and innovation.

To realize this orientation, building a system of evaluation indicators has been considered an important step in providing a scientific foundation for socio-economic policy-making.

At the national level, since 2017, the government has applied the Global Innovation Index (GII) developed by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

At the local level, the Provincial Innovation Index (PII) was piloted in 2022 and officially implemented nationwide in 2023.

The PII was built according to international standards, based on methodologies and calculation techniques transferred directly from WIPO’s GII.

The index has been independently validated by WIPO experts, confirming its compliance with international quality standards in statistics and methodology, making it a reliable tool for assessing provincial innovation capacity.

Currently, only Vietnam, India, China and Colombia are pioneering in applying this index.

After its introduction, local governments have actively studied, analyzed and used PII results as the basis for planning and assigning tasks to departments and agencies to improve each component indicator.

As a result, the PII has been highly valued as a scientific and practical foundation that helps provinces identify their strengths, weaknesses, potentials and conditions for development, from which to formulate appropriate policies.

At the GII 2025 launch event in Hanoi on September 25, WIPO Director General stated: “Vietnam’s PII is fostering healthy competition and positive learning among provinces.”

WIPO has also praised Vietnam’s model, inviting representatives to share experiences with member countries in 2024.

Many nations are now looking to Vietnam for lessons on building such an index.

In 2025, the top five provinces in the PII ranking are Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Quang Ninh, Hai Phong and Hue.

Hanoi maintained the number one spot for the third straight year, affirming its leading role in socio-economic development driven by science, technology and innovation.

The capital led the country in 18 out of 52 indicators.

Ho Chi Minh City remained in second place for the third year, excelling in infrastructure and leading in 13 component indicators.

Quang Ninh rose dramatically to third place, from the top 10 in 2023 and 2024, impressively topping seven component indicators.

Hai Phong ranked fourth, highlighting its strengths in industry, logistics, seaports and institutional frameworks.

Hue entered the top five for the first time, capitalizing on its advantages in services, human capital and research and development.

The annual development and publication of PII not only drives provinces to enhance competitiveness, but also significantly contributes to implementing Vietnam’s national socio-economic development strategy based on science, technology and innovation.

Du Lam