established
East Asia Cluster Dominance
East Asia dominates the global science and technology cluster landscape, hosting the world's largest and most productive clusters.
Timeframe
long-term
Categories
Subcategories
Detailed Analysis
The GII 2024 highlights the dominance of East Asia in the global science and technology (S&T) cluster rankings. The top five largest clusters are all located in this region, demonstrating their significant contribution to global innovation. The report identifies Tokyo-Yokohama as the largest cluster, followed by Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou, Beijing, Seoul, and Shanghai-Suzhou. This concentration of S&T activity in East Asia reflects the region's substantial investment in R&D, its strong focus on technological development, and its supportive innovation ecosystems. The report notes, "The world’s five biggest science and technology clusters are all located in East Asia." While East Asia leads in cluster size and output, the report also acknowledges the high S&T intensity of clusters in Europe and the United States. Cambridge and San Jose-San Francisco are identified as the most S&T-intensive clusters, indicating a high concentration of inventors and scientific authors relative to population density. This suggests that while East Asia excels in scale, other regions are achieving significant innovation output with a more focused approach.
Context Signals
Tokyo-Yokohama and Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou account for nearly one-fifth of global PCT applications.
China has 26 clusters in the top 100, followed by the US with 20 and Germany with 8.
Cambridge and San Jose-San Francisco have the highest number of articles and PCT filings per capita, respectively.
Edge
The rise of new technology hubs in other regions could challenge East Asia's dominance in the long term.
Increased collaboration between clusters across different regions could foster global innovation networks and accelerate technological advancements.
The growing importance of S&T clusters will likely lead to greater policy focus on developing and supporting these innovation ecosystems.
