2026 Startup Ecosystem Trends at a Glance<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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• Growth is moving down the rankings.<\/strong> Countries ranked 21 to 50 grew 21.7% on average, faster than the top 10 (16.3%). Cities ranked 201 to 1,000 grew 40.0%.<\/li>
• Middle East & Africa leads the regions<\/strong> with 20.2% growth, nearly double the global average, driven partly by Riyadh (+117.6%).<\/li>
• Central Asia and the Western Balkans are new growth engines.<\/strong> Uzbekistan grew 227.3%, the highest rate in the Index.<\/li>
• The United States extends its lead,<\/strong> growing 23.6%; its total score is now 3.92 times that of the United Kingdom.<\/li>
• Asia Pacific’s momentum is shifting<\/strong> to Singapore, Taiwan, India and Southeast Asia.<\/li>
• Europe grows fastest in the south and east,<\/strong> with Eastern Europe growing more than twice as fast as Western Europe.<\/li>
• Latin America grows above the global average,<\/strong> at 14.9%.<\/li>
• Countries are building ecosystems beyond their capitals,<\/strong> from Saudi Arabia to South Korea and Brazil.<\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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  Listen: StartupBlink CEO Eli David Rokah shares five lessons from the 2026 Index on building a stronger startup ecosystem, from fixing the business environment to promoting your ecosystem globally.<\/p>