UAE still region’s No.1 on Global Knowledge Index

Dubai - The country maintained its position as the second best in the world in terms of economy for the fourth year running.

The UAE rises to the 15th spot on the Global Knowledge Index 2020, out of 138 countries, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) announced Wednesday.

The country has moved up three rungs from rank 18 out of 136 countries last year, and remained No. 1 in the region.

It also maintained its position as the second best in the world in terms of economy for the fourth year running; came 10th globally for pre-university education; and first in five sectoral indices, sub-indices, and variables.

“Switzerland took the first place, followed by the US and Finland, respectively. Chad is in last place, Angola ranked 137th, and Mauritania 136th,” said Hany Torky, the knowledge project director at the UNDP.

A joint initiative by the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Foundation (MBRF) and UNDP, the fourth edition of the Global Knowledge Index was launched at a virtual Press conference in Dubai.

The index measures 138 countries based on different sectors: Pre-university education, technical and vocational education and training, higher education, research development and innovation, information and communications technology, economy, and general enabling environment.

UAE in top 10 of several sectoral indices

Based on the UAE’s performance summary in the report, the country’s strong points on the index were listed as: Intensity of local competition; active mobile-broadband subscriptions (per 100 inhabitants); researchers in business enterprise; women-to-men ratio in parliament; and FDI, net inflows (percentage of GDP).

Areas that needed improvement were: Labour force participation rate, female-to-male ratio, restrictive labour regulations, industrial design applications, renewable energy consumption, and total CO2 emissions per capita.

Commenting on UAE’s performance on the index, Jamal bin Huwaireb, CEO of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Foundation, said: “The UAE has performed very well in the index over the last four years. The UAE leadership works for the love of the people in the country. The UAE leads the world in the battle against Covid-19…The leadership has made scientific resolutions keeping in mind all people of the country.”

Dr Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research in Egypt, who participated in the launch of this year’s index, said: “There is continuous cooperation with the Knowledge Project, where the strengths and weaknesses of Egypt’s performance in the GKI are explored along with solutions to address the challenges.”

dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai
• Abu Dhabi