Jordan ranks 79 on Global Knowledge Index 2020

AMMAN — Jordan ranked 79 globally, among 138 countries, on the Global Knowledge Index (GKI) 2020 with a score of 43.9, close to the world average of 46.7.

“Jordan is a moderate performer in terms of its knowledge infrastructure,” said the report published by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Foundation (MBRF).

The Kingdom also ranked 21st out of 36 countries with high human development, according to the report.

Jordan’s areas of the strength based on the GKI include researchers in high education, printing and publishing manufacturing, inbound mobility rate, bank deposits to the gross domestic product (GDP) and the manufacturing’s added value of GDP.

The areas of improvement include the government’s expenditure per student in tertiary education, the unemployment rate, especially with advanced education, the gross enrolment ratio in primary education and the labour force’s participation rate in regard to the female-to-male ratio, according to the report. 

In regard to sectoral indices, Jordan ranked 110 in pre-university education, 85 in technical and vocational education and training, 50 in higher education, 75 in research development and innovation, 73 in information and communications technology, 59 in economy and 87 in general enabling environment. 

The GKI is produced annually since 2017, and is a summary measure for tracking the knowledge performance of countries at the level of the aforementioned seven areas (sectoral indices). 

“Covering 138 countries and 199 indicators, the GKI provides a systematic tool for guiding and informing policymakers, researchers, civil society and the private sector to collaborate on different aspects of policies to foster knowledge-based societies and bridge knowledge gaps,” according to the report.