Objective. The objective of the present article is to analyze the state and features of the development of innovative ecosystems in the world in 2011-2021 based on the indicator of innovative linkages. Methods. The following methods and techniques of cognition were used in the research process: theoretical generalization and comparison, analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, grouping, analysis of variational series. Results. According to the results of the conducted research, it is substantiated that the concept of "innovation ecosystem" should be understood as a national innovation system of a new generation, characterized by openness, dynamism, self-regulation, interaction of its components; the concept of "innovation ecosystem" is most often understood from the standpoint of two approaches: static (as a network of certain institutions, a system) and dynamic (as a process, affiliated communication); the most important parameter of innovative ecosystems, which determines their effectiveness and distinguishes them from other phenomena of innovative development, is interactivity. It is substantiated that international comparative studies on the development of innovative ecosystems can be carried out on the basis of the indicator "Innovation linkages", which is systematically calculated and published by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) within the Global Innovation Index Report. It was established that in 2011-2021the world as a whole did not advance in the direction of the development of innovative ecosystems, but on the contrary worsened its indicators (by 9.8 points), if ecosystems are evaluated on the basis of innovative linkages, which was associated with global crises (2014 and 2019) and their destructive impact on national economies. It was established that during 2011-2021, an increase in the asymmetry of the development of ecosystems in the world was recorded; among the macro-regions of the world, North America was characterized by the most developed network of innovation linkages and, as a result, the innovation ecosystem; during the analyzed period, there were not only asymmetries, but also significant disproportions in the development of innovative ecosystems - innovative linkages through clusters and cooperation of higher education institutions with enterprises were comparatively more successful, linkages associated with financing R&D from abroad and the functioning and development of strategic alliances.