Knowledge Economic Index Explained

The Knowledge Indexes were designed as an interactive tool for benchmarking a country's position vis-a-vis others in the global knowledge economy. It was created by the World Bank Institute using the Knowledge Assessment Methodology (KAM). The World Bank discontinued the index after 2012 and it was replaced by The Global Knowledge Index (GKI) from Knowledge4All, a joint initiative between the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Foundation (MBRF).[1] An EBRD 'Knowledge Economy Index' documented in a 2019 publication uses indicators like institutional & legal frameworks (as a basis for patents etc.), number of technical graduates, research spending number of patents, some measure of collaboration, and amount of venture capital.[2] In total there are 38 contributing indicators described in the ERBD index methodology.

Knowledge Index

The Knowledge Index (KI) is an economic indicator prepared by the World Bank Institute to measure a country's ability to generate, adopt and diffuse knowledge. Methodologically, the KI is the simple average of the normalized performance scores of a country or region on the key variables in three Knowledge Economy pillars - education and human resources, the innovation system and information and communication technology (ICT).[1]

Knowledge Economic Index

The Knowledge Economy Index (KEI) takes into account whether the environment is conducive for knowledge to be used effectively for economic development. It is an aggregate index that represents the overall level of development of a country or region towards the Knowledge Economy. The KEI is calculated based on the average of the normalized performance scores of a country or region on all 4 pillars related to the knowledge economy - economic incentive and institutional regime, education and human resources, the innovation system and ICT.[1]

The 4 pillars of the Knowledge Economy framework

KEI and KI indexes by country

CountryKEIKIEconomic Incentive RegimeInnovationEducation ICT 2015 Rank
Denmark9.589.559.669.579.809.281
Sweden9.529.639.189.799.409.692
Finland9.379.339.479.669.788.563
Netherlands9.329.369.189.489.269.364
Norway9.279.279.259.069.609.165
Canada9.219.149.429.439.268.746
Switzerland9.159.039.509.897.699.527
United Kingdom9.099.039.289.188.549.388
United States9.089.059.169.458.778.939
Australia9.059.178.668.729.649.1610
Ireland8.928.829.239.049.088.3311
Austria8.898.769.308.908.538.8512
Iceland8.888.878.927.989.449.1813
Germany8.878.838.999.008.469.0414
New Zealand8.879.008.488.659.798.5615
Belgium8.738.708.828.969.148.0216
8.698.808.359.247.919.2617
Luxembourg8.658.409.428.916.669.6218
Japan8.568.847.719.158.718.6619
France8.478.697.828.619.088.3820
Estonia8.348.228.687.498.278.9021
Slovenia8.258.298.118.318.248.3322
Spain8.248.138.588.148.218.0423
Singapore8.247.759.719.565.198.5024
Israel8.228.248.169.346.728.6425
8.207.739.608.645.309.2626
Italy7.868.196.848.047.868.6827
Hungary7.857.678.398.147.627.2528
Czech Republic7.837.708.237.608.117.3929
Lithuania7.687.607.946.598.367.8430
7.688.385.578.477.978.7131
Latvia7.647.518.046.408.417.7332
Cyprus7.557.477.777.656.458.3233
Portugal7.527.228.447.436.837.3934
Greece7.387.487.087.638.206.6235
Poland7.387.377.396.927.947.2536
Slovakia7.337.127.996.866.987.5137
Barbados7.257.785.667.518.407.4438
Croatia7.197.197.167.546.447.6139
Chile6.926.538.116.816.316.4640
Bulgaria6.806.737.016.437.426.3341
United Arab Emirates6.666.576.956.744.788.1842
Romania6.376.206.875.666.306.6343
Uruguay6.356.316.495.267.186.4844
Qatar6.156.205.995.775.297.5645
Dominica6.075.617.463.766.246.8246
Costa Rica6.065.856.706.245.016.3047
Malaysia6.066.026.186.834.147.0848
Russian Federation5.406.691.556.897.096.0849
Bahrain6.025.756.844.205.827.2250
Kuwait6.015.687.015.054.877.1351
Ukraine5.806.384.065.777.915.4552
Argentina5.496.442.636.856.495.9853
Trinidad and Tobago5.645.545.956.024.346.2754
Brazil5.576.004.306.075.846.0855
Turkey5.615.147.025.674.385.3856
South Africa5.555.475.816.924.514.9857
Jordan5.535.465.775.665.495.2158
Armenia5.515.445.716.176.323.8459
Mexico5.455.485.385.824.855.7760
Thailand5.445.415.515.985.275.0061
Oman5.374.727.324.954.304.9062
5.335.235.614.764.876.0663
Mauritius5.184.586.953.704.095.9664
Saudi Arabia5.155.075.394.044.876.2965
Jamaica5.045.403.995.364.106.7466
5.045.324.194.396.405.1767
Kazakhstan5.015.084.823.777.214.2568
Belarus4.936.390.555.548.005.6369
Lebanon4.864.914.704.694.765.2770
Tunisia4.734.565.264.584.105.0071
Panama4.694.455.395.454.863.0472
Georgia4.695.073.545.385.973.8573
Peru4.644.863.983.885.575.1274
Mongolia4.504.285.182.066.314.4675
Colombia4.424.623.834.264.794.8076
China4.354.464.015.124.114.1677
Guyana4.314.972.334.475.804.6478
Philippines4.254.024.953.634.763.6679
4.235.470.515.735.275.4180
Namibia4.193.207.143.302.573.7481
Sri Lanka4.164.074.444.444.912.8582
Albania4.044.083.913.104.944.2083
Egypt4.034.193.574.554.353.6684
Botswana3.963.505.344.342.583.5985
Dominican Republic3.923.814.242.914.114.4286
El Salvador3.913.654.703.193.264.5087
Azerbaijan3.813.933.423.055.033.7388
Kyrgyzstan3.743.903.252.706.252.7589
Paraguay3.623.872.873.474.203.9390
Ecuador3.464.081.583.553.774.9391
Morocco3.453.333.803.672.004.3292
3.423.632.783.054.763.0993
3.394.131.183.023.895.4894
Uzbekistan3.284.031.033.516.172.4095
Algeria3.253.502.533.483.643.3796
Cape Verde3.243.053.812.252.963.9697
Indonesia3.233.193.363.323.422.8298
Honduras3.213.183.303.303.173.0699
India3.122.943.673.972.262.59100
Guatemala3.112.883.782.472.213.97101
3.023.082.852.833.323.08102
Swaziland2.933.052.564.551.732.88103
Syrian Arab Republic2.903.341.553.442.913.68104
Nicaragua2.872.643.571.992.933.02105
Kenya2.822.653.313.871.492.60106
Tajikistan2.792.932.372.335.341.10107
Senegal2.632.154.072.770.922.75108
Zimbabwe2.513.250.294.092.383.29109
Ghana2.502.003.972.081.802.13110
Uganda2.461.934.042.721.161.92111
Madagascar2.371.514.932.540.761.25112
Mauritania2.351.833.891.750.942.80113
2.281.723.982.391.051.70114
Pakistan2.242.182.432.751.072.72115
Lesotho2.151.992.652.701.731.53116
Benin2.101.803.002.331.141.93117
Nigeria2.042.331.162.721.872.41118
Yemen1.801.831.721.681.831.99119
Mali1.781.183.581.690.661.19120
Mozambique1.711.203.241.860.331.41121
Angola1.701.671.762.440.881.70122
Cameroon1.691.851.202.491.361.70123
Burkina Faso1.641.113.242.150.260.93124
Nepal1.611.462.062.041.500.84125
Malawi1.551.172.712.110.870.53126
1.531.681.081.432.011.59127
Bangladesh1.491.631.101.711.521.66128
Myanmar1.481.521.351.172.580.82129
Rwanda1.340.852.801.470.350.74130
Ethiopia1.180.931.951.570.730.48131
Djibouti1.151.141.191.290.491.63132
Eritrea1.071.200.681.560.811.22133
Sierra Leone0.910.920.871.700.670.39134
Bosnia and Herzegovinan/an/a4.243.29n/a5.33135
n/an/a3.464.85n/a5.59136
Haitin/an/a1.291.15n/a1.57137
Cote d'Ivoiren/an/a0.572.52n/a2.30138
Sudann/an/a0.611.97n/a3.84139
Zambian/an/a2.972.37n/a2.03140

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Global Knowledge Index . knoema.com.
  2. Web site: 2019 . Introducing the EBRD Knowledge Economy Index . 16 May 2021 . ebrd.com . European Bank for Reconstruction and development.