text: Dubai, Under the patronage of the Chairperson of the Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture) Her Highness Shaikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Foundation (MBRF) unveiled the Global Knowledge Index leaders for 2021.
  The index comes in its fifth edition in a row and it aims to measure knowledge globally as a comprehensive closely connected with sustainable development and with different dimensions of modern human life.
  In this year’s edition, the knowledge index included 155 variables, selected by more than 40 international sources and databases.
  The results of the global knowledge index for the year 2021 unveiled that Switzerland came in first place globally for the fifth year in a row, followed by Sweden, the US, Finland and the Netherlands. The UAE was ranked 11th globally and first in the Arab World at GKI 2021.
  Switzerland has retained its top ranking for the fifth consecutive time this year.
  "The world is not completely out of the grip of COVID-19, but without doubt what stands out as we negotiated these trying times, is the relentless quest for knowledge that led us to develop vaccines as well as remedial and precautionary measures against the virus. Obviously, this continuing focus on knowledge and its triumph is what has led us to bring back careful normalcy in our daily life, and what has enabled this face-to-face meeting today," CEO of MBRF Jamal bin Huwaireb said.
  He said this year there has seen an extended participation in GKI endeavour, globally as well regionally, signifying the increased commitment towards reinforcing knowledge as a key driver for economic and social growth. The Arabic countries which debuted this year included Iraq and Palestine, joining the portfolio of 16 regional countries in the index.
  Globally, the country level participation at GKI 2021 was at 154, compared to 138 last year.
  Other countries in the GKI global leader list up to the 100th position included Qatar at the 38th place, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at 40th, Kuwait at 48th, Oman at 52nd, Egypt at 53rd, Bahrain at 55th, Tunisia at 83rd and Lebanon at 92nd. Morocco was at 101 globally, followed by Jordan at 103, Algeria at 111, Iraq at 137, Sudan at 145, Mauritania at 147 and Yemen at 150.
  "When the word stands at these challenging crossroads, the increased global participation at GKI is a robust indicator of how knowledge is the single most important factor that will help world nations prosper and lead in front for the benefit of posterity with sustainable focus. In this context, the GKI series has developed into an accepted and prudent benchmark in assessing knowledge-based societies and their growth," said Dena Assaf of the UN, Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported.
  "It is encouraging to see that in certain key branch indexes that drive knowledge, innovation and education, Arab countries have been faring well and are firmly on the road to progress. Significantly, it shows the positive impact of the awareness that the new world is largely shaped and led by countries that have an edge in knowledge," Regional Hub Manager at UNDP Regional Bureau for Arab States (RBAS) Khaled Abdel-Shafi said.
  The average global performance rate at GKI 2021 stood at 48.4 percent, while for the seven branch indexes of the index, the best performance was for pre-university education at 60.8 percent, followed by enabling environment (55.3), economy (52.9), technical learning and professional training (51.2), higher education (46.1), ICT (43.3) and research and development and innovation (31.4).
  GKI has been produced annually since 2017 by the Knowledge Project, a partnership between UNDP-RBAS and MBRF. The index includes 155 variables, selected from over 40 sources and international databases including the UNESCO, World Bank, ITU, International Monetary Fund (IMF), Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), International Labour Organisation (ILO) etc.
  Source: Bahrain News Agency