The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in cooperation with the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Foundation (MBRF), recently published the 2021 Global Knowledge Index (GKI) report which aims to monitor the knowledge status in 154 countries in areas such as education, innovation, and information & communications technology (ICT). The report also helps nurturing knowledge-based societies and reducing knowledge gaps. The index displays how emerging trends in technology, learning, and innovation are completely reshaping societies. The GKI covers 232 indicators spread across seven sectoral indices, namely “Pre-University Education (15% weight)”, “Technical and Vocational Education and Training (15% weight)”, “Higher Education; (15% weight)”, “Research, Development and Innovation (15% weight)”, “Information and Communications Technology (15% weight)”, “Economy (15% weight)”, and “Enabling Environment (10% weight)”. Scores range between 0 and 100, with 0 representing the lowest possible score and 100 the highest. According to the report, the world average score in the 2021 GKI stood at 48.4, with the “Pre-University Education” sectoral index averaging the highest score of 60.8, and the “Research, Development and Innovation” sectoral index averaging the lowest score of 31.4.

Switzerland led the list of countries in the 2021 GKI with a score of 71.5, followed by Sweden (score of 70.0), the United States (score of 70.0), Finland (score of 69.9), and the Netherlands (score of 69.5). Four of the top five countries (at the exception of the United States) fared best in the “Enabling Environment” sectoral index with scores surpassing 80. In the Arab region, the United Arab Emirates came in 11^th in the world and 1^st in the region with a GKI score of 67.3, followed by Qatar (global rank: 38; score: 58.7), Saudi Arabia (global rank: 40; score: 57.6), and Kuwait (global rank: 48; score: 54.5), only to name a few.

Locally, Lebanon came in 92^nd in the world and 9^th in the Arab region in the 2021 GKI with a score of 44.8, up from 44.3 in the 2020 index. In details, Lebanon scored highest in the “Higher Education” sectoral index (56.7) and lowest in the “Research, Development and Innovation” (35.5). Lebanon managed to improve its scores in areas related to “Higher Education”, “Research, Development and Innovation”, and “Economy” sectoral indices when compared to the 2020 GKI scores. Lebanon’s underperformed the world’s average GKI score of 48.4, outperforming however the world’s average when it comes to “Higher Education” and “Research, Development and Innovation” (56.7 and 35.5 respectively for Lebanon compared to world averages of 46.1 and 31.4).