Knowledge Economic Index
Encyclopedia
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)
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)
. 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.
Knowledge economy
The knowledge economy is a term that refers either to an economy of knowledge focused on the production and management of knowledge in the frame of economic constraints, or to a knowledge-based economy. In the second meaning, more frequently used, it refers to the use of knowledge technologies to...
. It was created by the World Bank Institute
World Bank Institute
The World Bank Institute is the capacity development branch of the World Bank. It provides learning programs, policy advice and technical assistance to policy makers, government and non-government agencies and development practitioners of developing countries...
using the Knowledge Assessment Methodology (KAM)
Knowledge Index
The Knowledge Index or KI is an economic indicator prepared by the World Bank InstituteWorld Bank Institute
The World Bank Institute is the capacity development branch of the World Bank. It provides learning programs, policy advice and technical assistance to policy makers, government and non-government agencies and development practitioners of developing countries...
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)
Knowledge Economic Index
The Knowledge Economy Index (KEI) takes into account whether the environment is conducive for knowledge to be used effectively for economic developmentEconomic development
Economic development generally refers to the sustained, concerted actions of policymakers and communities that promote the standard of living and economic health of a specific area...
. 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.
The 4 pillars of the Knowledge Economy framework
- An economic and institutional regime to provide incentives for the efficient use of existing and new knowledge and the flourishing of entrepreneurship;
- An educated and skilled population to create, share, and use knowledge well;
- An efficient innovation system of firms, research centers, universities, consultants and other organizations to tap into the growing stock of global knowledge, assimilate and adapt it to local needs, and create new technology;
- Information and communication technology to facilitate the effective creation, dissemination, and processing of information.
KEI and KI indexes by country
| Country | KEI | KI | Economic Incentive Regime | Innovation | Education | ICT | 2008 Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Denmark |
9.58 | 9.55 | 9.66 | 9.57 | 9.80 | 9.28 | 1 |
 Sweden |
9.52 | 9.63 | 9.18 | 9.79 | 9.40 | 9.69 | 2 |
 Finland |
9.37 | 9.33 | 9.47 | 9.66 | 9.78 | 8.56 | 3 |
 Netherlands |
9.32 | 9.36 | 9.18 | 9.48 | 9.26 | 9.36 | 4 |
 Norway |
9.27 | 9.27 | 9.25 | 9.06 | 9.60 | 9.16 | 5 |
 Canada |
9.21 | 9.14 | 9.42 | 9.43 | 9.26 | 8.74 | 6 |
 Switzerland |
9.15 | 9.03 | 9.50 | 9.89 | 7.69 | 9.52 | 7 |
 United Kingdom |
9.09 | 9.03 | 9.28 | 9.18 | 8.54 | 9.38 | 8 |
 United States |
9.08 | 9.05 | 9.16 | 9.45 | 8.77 | 8.93 | 9 |
 Australia |
9.05 | 9.17 | 8.66 | 8.72 | 9.64 | 9.16 | 10 |
 Republic of Ireland |
8.92 | 8.82 | 9.23 | 9.04 | 9.08 | 8.33 | 11 |
 Austria |
8.89 | 8.76 | 9.30 | 8.90 | 8.53 | 8.85 | 12 |
 Iceland |
8.88 | 8.87 | 8.92 | 7.98 | 9.44 | 9.18 | 13 |
 Germany |
8.87 | 8.83 | 8.99 | 9.00 | 8.46 | 9.04 | 14 |
 New Zealand |
8.87 | 9.00 | 8.48 | 8.65 | 9.79 | 8.56 | 15 |
 Belgium |
8.73 | 8.70 | 8.82 | 8.96 | 9.14 | 8.02 | 16 |
 Republic of China,Rep of China |
8.69 | 8.80 | 8.35 | 9.24 | 7.91 | 9.26 | 17 |
 Luxembourg |
8.65 | 8.40 | 9.42 | 8.91 | 6.66 | 9.62 | 18 |
 Japan |
8.56 | 8.84 | 7.71 | 9.15 | 8.71 | 8.66 | 19 |
 Early Modern France |
8.47 | 8.69 | 7.82 | 8.61 | 9.08 | 8.38 | 20 |
 Estonia |
8.34 | 8.22 | 8.68 | 7.49 | 8.27 | 8.90 | 21 |
 Slovenia |
8.25 | 8.29 | 8.11 | 8.31 | 8.24 | 8.33 | 22 |
 Spain |
8.24 | 8.13 | 8.58 | 8.14 | 8.21 | 8.04 | 23 |
 Singapore |
8.24 | 7.75 | 9.71 | 9.56 | 5.19 | 8.50 | 24 |
 Israel |
8.22 | 8.24 | 8.16 | 9.34 | 6.72 | 8.64 | 25 |
 Hong Kong |
8.20 | 7.73 | 9.60 | 8.64 | 5.30 | 9.26 | 26 |
 Italy |
7.86 | 8.19 | 6.84 | 8.04 | 7.86 | 8.68 | 27 |
 Hungary |
7.85 | 7.67 | 8.39 | 8.14 | 7.62 | 7.25 | 28 |
 Czech Republic |
7.83 | 7.70 | 8.23 | 7.60 | 8.11 | 7.39 | 29 |
 Lithuania |
7.68 | 7.60 | 7.94 | 6.59 | 8.36 | 7.84 | 30 |
 South Korea |
7.68 | 8.38 | 5.57 | 8.47 | 7.97 | 8.71 | 31 |
 Latvia |
7.64 | 7.51 | 8.04 | 6.40 | 8.41 | 7.73 | 32 |
 Cyprus |
7.55 | 7.47 | 7.77 | 7.65 | 6.45 | 8.32 | 33 |
 Portugal |
7.52 | 7.22 | 8.44 | 7.43 | 6.83 | 7.39 | 34 |
 Greece |
7.38 | 7.48 | 7.08 | 7.63 | 8.20 | 6.62 | 35 |
 Poland |
7.38 | 7.37 | 7.39 | 6.92 | 7.94 | 7.25 | 36 |
 Slovakia |
7.33 | 7.12 | 7.99 | 6.86 | 6.98 | 7.51 | 37 |
 Barbados |
7.25 | 7.78 | 5.66 | 7.51 | 8.40 | 7.44 | 38 |
 Independent State of Croatia |
7.19 | 7.19 | 7.16 | 7.54 | 6.44 | 7.61 | 39 |
 Chile |
6.92 | 6.53 | 8.11 | 6.81 | 6.31 | 6.46 | 40 |
 Kingdom of Bulgaria |
6.80 | 6.73 | 7.01 | 6.43 | 7.42 | 6.33 | 41 |
 United Arab Emirates |
6.66 | 6.57 | 6.95 | 6.74 | 4.78 | 8.18 | 42 |
 Kingdom of Romania |
6.37 | 6.20 | 6.87 | 5.66 | 6.30 | 6.63 | 43 |
 Uruguay |
6.35 | 6.31 | 6.49 | 5.26 | 7.18 | 6.48 | 44 |
 Qatar |
6.15 | 6.20 | 5.99 | 5.77 | 5.29 | 7.56 | 45 |
 Dominica |
6.07 | 5.61 | 7.46 | 3.76 | 6.24 | 6.82 | 46 |
 Costa Rica |
6.06 | 5.85 | 6.70 | 6.24 | 5.01 | 6.30 | 47 |
 Malaysia |
6.06 | 6.02 | 6.18 | 6.83 | 4.14 | 7.08 | 48 |
 Russia |
5.40 | 6.69 | 1.55 | 6.89 | 7.09 | 6.08 | 49 |
 Bahrain |
6.02 | 5.75 | 6.84 | 4.20 | 5.82 | 7.22 | 50 |
 Kuwait |
6.01 | 5.68 | 7.01 | 5.05 | 4.87 | 7.13 | 51 |
 Ukraine |
5.80 | 6.38 | 4.06 | 5.77 | 7.91 | 5.45 | 52 |
 Argentina |
5.49 | 6.44 | 2.63 | 6.85 | 6.49 | 5.98 | 53 |
 Trinidad and Tobago |
5.64 | 5.54 | 5.95 | 6.02 | 4.34 | 6.27 | 54 |
 Brazil |
5.57 | 6.00 | 4.30 | 6.07 | 5.84 | 6.08 | 55 |
 Turkey |
5.61 | 5.14 | 7.02 | 5.67 | 4.38 | 5.38 | 56 |
 South Africa |
5.55 | 5.47 | 5.81 | 6.92 | 4.51 | 4.98 | 57 |
 Jordan |
5.53 | 5.46 | 5.77 | 5.66 | 5.49 | 5.21 | 58 |
 Armenia |
5.51 | 5.44 | 5.71 | 6.17 | 6.32 | 3.84 | 59 |
 Mexico |
5.45 | 5.48 | 5.38 | 5.82 | 4.85 | 5.77 | 60 |
 Thailand |
5.44 | 5.41 | 5.51 | 5.98 | 5.27 | 5.00 | 61 |
 Oman |
5.37 | 4.72 | 7.32 | 4.95 | 4.30 | 4.90 | 62 |
 Republic of Macedonia |
5.33 | 5.23 | 5.61 | 4.76 | 4.87 | 6.06 | 63 |
 Mauritius |
5.18 | 4.58 | 6.95 | 3.70 | 4.09 | 5.96 | 64 |
 Saudi Arabia |
5.15 | 5.07 | 5.39 | 4.04 | 4.87 | 6.29 | 65 |
 Jamaica |
5.04 | 5.40 | 3.99 | 5.36 | 4.10 | 6.74 | 66 |
 Moldova |
5.04 | 5.32 | 4.19 | 4.39 | 6.40 | 5.17 | 67 |
 Kazakhstan |
5.01 | 5.08 | 4.82 | 3.77 | 7.21 | 4.25 | 68 |
 Belarus |
4.93 | 6.39 | 0.55 | 5.54 | 8.00 | 5.63 | 69 |
 Lebanon |
4.86 | 4.91 | 4.70 | 4.69 | 4.76 | 5.27 | 70 |
 Tunisia |
4.73 | 4.56 | 5.26 | 4.58 | 4.10 | 5.00 | 71 |
 Panama |
4.69 | 4.45 | 5.39 | 5.45 | 4.86 | 3.04 | 72 |
 Georgia (country) |
4.69 | 5.07 | 3.54 | 5.38 | 5.97 | 3.85 | 73 |
 Peru |
4.64 | 4.86 | 3.98 | 3.88 | 5.57 | 5.12 | 74 |
 Mongolia |
4.50 | 4.28 | 5.18 | 2.06 | 6.31 | 4.46 | 75 |
 Colombia |
4.42 | 4.62 | 3.83 | 4.26 | 4.79 | 4.80 | 76 |
 Mainland China |
4.35 | 4.46 | 4.01 | 5.12 | 4.11 | 4.16 | 77 |
 Guyana |
4.31 | 4.97 | 2.33 | 4.47 | 5.80 | 4.64 | 78 |
 Philippines |
4.25 | 4.02 | 4.95 | 3.63 | 4.76 | 3.66 | 79 |
 Venezuela |
4.23 | 5.47 | 0.51 | 5.73 | 5.27 | 5.41 | 80 |
 Namibia |
4.19 | 3.20 | 7.14 | 3.30 | 2.57 | 3.74 | 81 |
 Sri Lanka |
4.16 | 4.07 | 4.44 | 4.44 | 4.91 | 2.85 | 82 |
 Albania |
4.04 | 4.08 | 3.91 | 3.10 | 4.94 | 4.20 | 83 |
 Egypt |
4.03 | 4.19 | 3.57 | 4.55 | 4.35 | 3.66 | 84 |
 Botswana |
3.96 | 3.50 | 5.34 | 4.34 | 2.58 | 3.59 | 85 |
 Dominican Republic |
3.92 | 3.81 | 4.24 | 2.91 | 4.11 | 4.42 | 86 |
 El Salvador |
3.91 | 3.65 | 4.70 | 3.19 | 3.26 | 4.50 | 87 |
 Azerbaijan |
3.81 | 3.93 | 3.42 | 3.05 | 5.03 | 3.73 | 88 |
 Kyrgyzstan |
3.74 | 3.90 | 3.25 | 2.70 | 6.25 | 2.75 | 89 |
 Paraguay |
3.62 | 3.87 | 2.87 | 3.47 | 4.20 | 3.93 | 90 |
 Ecuador |
3.46 | 4.08 | 1.58 | 3.55 | 3.77 | 4.93 | 91 |
 Morocco |
3.45 | 3.33 | 3.80 | 3.67 | 2.00 | 4.32 | 92 |
 Bolivia |
3.42 | 3.63 | 2.78 | 3.05 | 4.76 | 3.09 | 93 |
 Iran |
3.39 | 4.13 | 1.18 | 3.02 | 3.89 | 5.48 | 94 |
 Uzbekistan |
3.28 | 4.03 | 1.03 | 3.51 | 6.17 | 2.40 | 95 |
 Algeria |
3.25 | 3.50 | 2.53 | 3.48 | 3.64 | 3.37 | 96 |
 Cape Verde |
3.24 | 3.05 | 3.81 | 2.25 | 2.96 | 3.96 | 97 |
 Indonesia |
3.23 | 3.19 | 3.36 | 3.32 | 3.42 | 2.82 | 98 |
 Honduras |
3.21 | 3.18 | 3.30 | 3.30 | 3.17 | 3.06 | 99 |
 India |
3.12 | 2.94 | 3.67 | 3.97 | 2.26 | 2.59 | 100 |
 Guatemala |
3.11 | 2.88 | 3.78 | 2.47 | 2.21 | 3.97 | 101 |
 Vietnam |
3.02 | 3.08 | 2.85 | 2.83 | 3.32 | 3.08 | 102 |
 Swaziland |
2.93 | 3.05 | 2.56 | 4.55 | 1.73 | 2.88 | 103 |
| align="left" | |2.90 | 3.34 | 1.55 | 3.44 | 2.91 | 3.68 | 104 |
 Nicaragua |
2.87 | 2.64 | 3.57 | 1.99 | 2.93 | 3.02 | 105 |
 Kenya |
2.82 | 2.65 | 3.31 | 3.87 | 1.49 | 2.60 | 106 |
 Tajikistan |
2.79 | 2.93 | 2.37 | 2.33 | 5.34 | 1.10 | 107 |
 Senegal |
2.63 | 2.15 | 4.07 | 2.77 | 0.92 | 2.75 | 108 |
 Zimbabwe |
2.51 | 3.25 | 0.29 | 4.09 | 2.38 | 3.29 | 109 |
 Ghana |
2.50 | 2.00 | 3.97 | 2.08 | 1.80 | 2.13 | 110 |
 Uganda |
2.46 | 1.93 | 4.04 | 2.72 | 1.16 | 1.92 | 111 |
 Madagascar |
2.37 | 1.51 | 4.93 | 2.54 | 0.76 | 1.25 | 112 |
 Mauritania |
2.35 | 1.83 | 3.89 | 1.75 | 0.94 | 2.80 | 113 |
 Tanzania |
2.28 | 1.72 | 3.98 | 2.39 | 1.05 | 1.70 | 114 |
 Pakistan |
2.24 | 2.18 | 2.43 | 2.75 | 1.07 | 2.72 | 115 |
 Lesotho |
2.15 | 1.99 | 2.65 | 2.70 | 1.73 | 1.53 | 116 |
 Benin |
2.10 | 1.80 | 3.00 | 2.33 | 1.14 | 1.93 | 117 |
 Nigeria |
2.04 | 2.33 | 1.16 | 2.72 | 1.87 | 2.41 | 118 |
 Yemen |
1.80 | 1.83 | 1.72 | 1.68 | 1.83 | 1.99 | 119 |
 Mali |
1.78 | 1.18 | 3.58 | 1.69 | 0.66 | 1.19 | 120 |
 Mozambique |
1.71 | 1.20 | 3.24 | 1.86 | 0.33 | 1.41 | 121 |
 Angola |
1.70 | 1.67 | 1.76 | 2.44 | 0.88 | 1.70 | 122 |
 Cameroon |
1.69 | 1.85 | 1.20 | 2.49 | 1.36 | 1.70 | 123 |
 Burkina Faso |
1.64 | 1.11 | 3.24 | 2.15 | 0.26 | 0.93 | 124 |
 Nepal |
1.61 | 1.46 | 2.06 | 2.04 | 1.50 | 0.84 | 125 |
 Malawi |
1.55 | 1.17 | 2.71 | 2.11 | 0.87 | 0.53 | 126 |
 Laos |
1.53 | 1.68 | 1.08 | 1.43 | 2.01 | 1.59 | 127 |
 Bangladesh |
1.49 | 1.63 | 1.10 | 1.71 | 1.52 | 1.66 | 128 |
 Myanmar |
1.48 | 1.52 | 1.35 | 1.17 | 2.58 | 0.82 | 129 |
 Rwanda |
1.34 | 0.85 | 2.80 | 1.47 | 0.35 | 0.74 | 130 |
 Ethiopia |
1.18 | 0.93 | 1.95 | 1.57 | 0.73 | 0.48 | 131 |
 Djibouti |
1.15 | 1.14 | 1.19 | 1.29 | 0.49 | 1.63 | 132 |
 Eritrea |
1.07 | 1.20 | 0.68 | 1.56 | 0.81 | 1.22 | 133 |
 Sierra Leone |
0.91 | 0.92 | 0.87 | 1.70 | 0.67 | 0.39 | 134 |
 Bosnia and Herzegovina |
n/a | n/a | 4.24 | 3.29 | n/a | 5.33 | 135 |
 Serbia and Montenegro |
n/a | n/a | 3.46 | 4.85 | n/a | 5.59 | 136 |
 Haiti |
n/a | n/a | 1.29 | 1.15 | n/a | 1.57 | 137 |
 Côte d'Ivoire |
n/a | n/a | 0.57 | 2.52 | n/a | 2.30 | 138 |
 Sudan |
n/a | n/a | 0.61 | 1.97 | n/a | 3.84 | 139 |
 Zambia |
n/a | n/a | 2.97 | 2.37 | n/a | 2.03 | 140 |