Tunisia is a moderately performing country in terms of knowledge infrastructure. The country ranks 83rd out of 154 in the Global Knowledge Index (GKI) 2021, moving down one spot from last year.
National knowledge performance positions Tunisia in 5th place on the African continent.
Nevertheless, the country is ranked 9th in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
The score obtained is 47.2 out of 100 against a world average of 48.4.
The ranking is based on the assessment of seven main areas. These are pre-university education, technical and vocational education and training, higher education, research, development and innovation, information and communication technology, the economy and the general environmental friendliness.
The study conducted by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) shows that Tunisia’s strengths are the level of public spending directed toward secondary education, in addition to public funding per secondary student.
Higher education graduates from sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs add to the advantages presented by Tunisia, which also boasts the number of higher education graduates from ICT programs as well as higher education researchers.
The brakes facing knowledge in Tunisia are the debt dynamics, the unemployment rate of higher education graduates but also the high proportion of skilled workers and the frail speed of the internet connection.
The Seychelles ranks first on the African continent by occupying 44th place through a score of 55 out of 100. Mauritius is in second in the continent and 49th in the overall ranking. Egypt is third in Africa by ranking 53rd out of 154.
Botswana (70th), Tunisia (83rd) close the continental TOP 5. South Africa (84th) is sixth, ahead of Cape Verde (93rd), Namibia (98th), Morocco (101st) and Kenya (105th).
In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) sweeps the top spot by ranking eleventh in the world through a score of 67.3 out of 100.
Qatar is third in the region by ranking 38th out of 154 countries.
Saudi Arabia (40th), Kuwait (48th) and the Sultanate of Oman (52nd) follow suit. Egypt (53rd) is in seventh place among MENA countries, but beats Bahrain (55th).
Tunisia (83rd) is ninth, overtaking Lebanon (92nd), which manages to enter the region’s TOP 10, unlike Morocco (115th) in the world.
In the world, Switzerland is still in on the top. Sweden has moved from fourth place to second. The United States dropped to third place while Finland is fourth, losing one place.
The worst performing countries are the Democratic Republic of Congo (Congo-Kinshasa) which ranks 152nd, followed by Niger (153rd) and Chad(154th).
