By : Basel Khaled
Egypt secured the fourth place, out of 39 countries, with high human development and 53rd worldwide in the Global Knowledge Index 2021 (GKI), issued by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in partnership with the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Foundation (MBRF). The Index assesses global knowledge as a comprehensive concept closely linked to sustainable development and to the various dimensions of contemporary human life, building knowledge societies and economies, and forging development policies to foresee the future.
The Global Knowledge Index measures the knowledge status in 154 countries, based on seven composite sub-indicators highlighting the performance of six critical sectors - pre-university education, technical and vocational education and training (TVET), higher education, research, development and innovation (RDI), ICT, and economics, together with a sub-indicator on enabling environment aimed at diagnosing the social, political, economic, health, and environmental aspects of these sectors.
The indicator, which was extensively reviewed during the seventh edition of the Knowledge Summit 2022, organized by MBRF in collaboration with UNDP at Expo 2020 Dubai, demonstrated that Egypt enjoys a strong performance in terms of knowledge infrastructure, ranking fourth out of 39 countries with high human development. The country’s strengths are represented in the educational achievement ratio of completing a master's degree or equivalent, market concentration, rate of students enrolled in secondary education in vocational education programs, individual's environmental touch, and companies whose products are new to major markets.
Regarding the sub-indicators, the report revealed that Egypt ranked 72nd globally in the Pre-University Education Index, 68th in the Technical and Vocational Education and Training Index, 35th in the Higher Education Index, 58th in the Research, Development and Innovation Index, 57th in the ICT Index, 56th in the Economy Index, and 88th in the Enabling Environment Index.
The fifth edition of the Global Knowledge Index 2021 covered 155 variables selected from over 40 international sources and databases, including the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the World Bank, The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), International Labour Organization (ILO), and others. The results showed Switzerland secured the first place worldwide for the fifth consecutive year, followed by Sweden, the United States of America, Finland, and the Netherlands.
