country profile

West Bank and Gaza

Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & PakistanLower middle income5.41M population

Last updated July 15, 2026

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Fragile/Conflict-Affected Country: This country is classified as experiencing conflict.

In fragile and conflict-affected settings, severe data gaps, rapid disruption, and uneven reporting can distort index values. These scores should be read as a limited signal, not a complete picture of conditions in the country.

Emerging readiness

Composite GEFRI Score

Infrastructure is strongest, while Governance remains a constraint

West Bank and Gaza demonstrates early-stage readiness to meet the challenges and opportunities of education in a rapidly changing world (42nd percentile worldwide). Investments are generating initial gains, yet substantial gaps persist in several dimensions.

46.28Composite score
Global percentile
42nd
Global rank
#103
Regional rank
#13
Viewing data for
Emerging readiness
Infrastructure
59.52
45th percentileGlobal avg. 55.13
Emerging readiness
Human Capital
52.84
59th percentileGlobal avg. 47.36
Emerging readiness
Innovation
48.27
62nd percentileGlobal avg. 46.19
Severely underprepared
Governance
30.76
23rd percentileGlobal avg. 47.46
Severely underprepared
Access & Parity
40.00
44th percentileGlobal avg. 48.49

Country profile

West Bank and Gaza remains in the emerging-readiness range, with progress visible but major gaps still limiting future readiness. Its weakest results are in Governance (31, 23rd percentile). These gaps continue to weigh on overall readiness.

Uneven scores across dimensions show where readiness conditions are less aligned. High internet adoption enables broad participation in digital learning and innovation.

R&D investment remains modest, affecting long-term innovation potential. Policy execution and regulatory capacity remain weak, leaving reforms fragmented and hard to sustain. Girls outperform boys in secondary pathways, adding pressure to address male dropout risks.

GEFRI Composite presents a near-term leapfrog opportunity: performance is just below the global average, backed by enough observed data to support forward planning. Regionally, Governance lags peers the most, signalling where investment could have the highest impact.

Most indicators are observed rather than imputed, so estimation uncertainty is limited.

Key insights

Places 103rd worldwide.

Holds a regional position of 13th within Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan.

Scores range from Infrastructure (59.5) to Governance (30.8), reflecting variation across dimensions.

Trails regional peers most clearly in Governance.

Regional peers: Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan

Composite GEFRI Score

Global rankRegional rankCountryScore
171Israel74.74
332United Arab Emirates69.85
393Malta64.27
414Saudi Arabia63.88
535Qatar60.47
576Jordan58.77
627Bahrain58.20
648Oman57.74
799Morocco53.94
8210Kuwait53.39
9411Egypt, Arab Rep.49.54
9612Tunisia49.30
10313West Bank and GazaFCS46.28
10414Iran, Islamic Rep.FCS46.15
11115Algeria40.96
11616Djibouti39.22
12217LebanonFCS36.21
12918IraqFCS34.23
13019LibyaFCS33.89
14920Syrian Arab RepublicFCS27.35
15221Yemen, Rep.FCS25.83