StartupBlink, a research centre and global startup map, has released its annual ranking of startup ecosystems globally, covering 1,400+ cities and 110+ countries around the world.

Although the Top 10 countries in its Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2025 have remained the same from 2024, it has noted some interesting shifts happening in its 377-page report.

- The US, UK and Israel form the clear “Big 3”, but Singapore (4th) is closing in fast: the south-east Asian island state has the fastest-growing country in the Top 10, and the first ever to break into the T 4 outside the US, UK, Israel and Canada.

- Despite a wide total score lead over all other countries, the US has the lowest growth rate among the top 20 countries.

- Switzerland has jumped to 9th place with a 31.8% annual ecosystem growth rate, overtaking the Netherlands.

- None of the EU Member States managed to break into the global Top 5; however, France and Sweden should be commended for their annual ecosystem growth rates of over 30%.

Luxembourg spotlight

Luxembourg has fallen one place to #32, with an annual ecosystem growth of 4.1% and a total score of 8,870, ending three years of consecutive growth. This decline is also reflected in its fall to 19th in Europe and 16th in the EU. Luxembourg has the second lowest ecosystem growth rate, in the Top 35 at 4.1%, just behind Iceland.

However, Luxembourg ranks 1st for countries with a population between 500,000 and one million.

Luxembourg has two cities in the top 1,000, but none in the top 100. Luxembourg’s startup environment remains highly centralised in Luxembourg City (#157, down 27), whose total score is 14.7 times higher than Esch-sur-Alzette’s (#642). The gap has narrowed slightly 
compared to 2024.

Awards

StartupBlink Country of the Year 2025: Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia has been named Country of the Year in the Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2025 for its remarkable transformation through policy reforms and 230% growth—making it the fastest-rising ecosystem globally. 

StartupBlink City of the Year 2025: Baku, Azerbaijan

Baku, Azerbaijan, has been named City of the Year in the Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2025 for its rapid digital transformation accelerating the startup ecosystem and nearly 45% annual ecosystem growth.

Eli David Rokah, CEO at StartupBlink, stated "Two major forces are shaping the global tech environment. The first is artificial intelligence, now widely recognised as one of the most significant technological breakthroughs in recent memory. It is setting the agenda for decades to come and has the potential to reshape economies at an unprecedented pace. The second major shift is the evolving geopolitical landscape. Globalisation has given way to a more regionally focused economy, with distinct blocs emerging. In this environment, founders must be more strategic than ever about which industries to pursue and where to locate their startups. Many countries—even some of the highest-ranked—have made critical missteps that have weakened their startup ecosystems. We see this in various forms: public safety and business environment concerns in San Francisco, destabilising judicial reforms in Israel, Brexit in the United Kingdom, and China’s retreat from the global tech ecosystem. By learning from these self-inflicted missteps, smaller startup ecosystems can close gaps by avoiding similar errors, providing stability and continuously improving their business environment. Few governments invest in developing their startup ecosystems. Those that do enjoy strong results".

StartupBlink provides stakeholders with services related to startup ecosystem development and analysis of the innovation economy.