-5 0 5 20 -10 100.600.650.700.750.800.850.900.951.001.051.10 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024Compound annual growth rate (CAGR), % Innovation and technology index International students Cross-border data ﬂows IT services trade IT goods/intermediates trade Individuals using the internet* Average price of a lithium-ion battery1* Total factor productivity growth* Cross-border R&D Cross-border patent applications 15 2012–20 2020–23 2023–24Pillar 2 Innovation and technology The innovation and technology pillar examines elements of global cooperation that can accelerate innovation and create beneficial technological progress. The topline measurement of cooperation in this pillar rose approximately 3% year-on-year (YoY), propelled by increases in data flows and IT trade of goods and services (Figure 6). While some metrics returned to growth after earlier declines, there are signs of uncertainty ahead. Cooperation on cross-border research is down. Collaboration deteriorated in the trade of components of frontier technologies, whose flows are increasingly tied to geostrategic considerations. This has manifested, for example, in tighter controls on certain leading- edge technologies, resources and associated intellectual property, especially between the US and China. Perhaps because of this, respondents to the Global Cooperation Barometer survey said this pillar was the least likely to see improved cooperation. Most innovation and technology metrics rose in 2024 FIGURE 6 1. Metrics were inverted given negative connotation; *outcome metrics. Notes: Partial extrapolation of 2024 data from 2023 data for the following metrics: cross-border data flows, cross- border R&D, IT goods/intermediates trade. Sources: The Conference Board; International Telecommunications Union; BloombergNEF; Cisco; United Nations Trade and Development (UNCTAD); PATSTAT; Institute of International Education; Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD); McKinsey & Company analysis.Cooperation in this pillar increased, propelled by investment to spur advances in AI deployment, while 2025 brought new uncertainties, such as increasing restrictions. The Global Cooperation Barometer 2026 15