Sri Lanka ranks 79th in Global Knowledge Index

Sri Lanka has been ranked 79th in the Global Knowledge Index (GKI) 2022, and was deemed a ‘moderate performer in terms of its knowledge infrastructure’. 

The GKI, compiled by the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Foundation and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), assesses 132 countries in areas such as education, innovation, knowledge, the economy, technology, and research and development. 

The index aids countries to identify sectors in need of development, while also providing data that can help communities grow. 

Sri Lanka secured an average score of 43.4, 3.1 points below the world average of 46.5. 

The island nation ranked 75th in pre-university education, 56th in technical and vocational education and training, 87th in higher education, 71st in research, development and innovation, 88th in information and communications technology, 83rd in the economic sector and 70th in enabling environment. 

The report further noted several areas which could be improved, such as government expenditure on vocational education, primary education, government funding per secondary student, building quality control and the female-to-male ratio in Parliament.

Despite this, however, the GKI 2022 also recognized certain areas of strength, including Sri Lanka’s labour force participation rate with advanced education and short-cycle tertiary education, and the net enrolment rate in lower secondary education. 

Thus, although having ranked 79th out of the 132 countries from the GKI as a whole, Sri Lanka ranked 16th out of the 28 countries with high human development.