country profile

West Bank and Gaza

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

Last updated August 26, 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

Human Capital is a strength, but Governance lags

West Bank and Gaza demonstrates early-stage readiness to meet the challenges and opportunities of education in a rapidly changing world (38th percentile worldwide). Investments are generating initial gains, yet substantial gaps persist in several dimensions.

53.03Composite score
Global percentile
38th
Global rank
#110
Regional rank
#15
Viewing data for
Progressing readiness
Infrastructure
70.85
41st percentileGlobal avg. 70.44
Advanced readiness
Human Capital
78.73
67th percentileGlobal avg. 66.18
Emerging readiness
Innovation
45.52
47th percentileGlobal avg. 48.64
Severely underprepared
Governance
30.05
23rd percentileGlobal avg. 47.07
Severely underprepared
Access & Parity
40.00
37th percentileGlobal avg. 60.85

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 (30, 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, School Access and Gender Parity 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

Falls below many peers at the 38th percentile.

Places 110th worldwide.

Holds a regional position of 15th within Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan.

Scores range from Human Capital (78.7) to Governance (30.1), reflecting variation across dimensions.

Trails regional peers most clearly in Access & Parity.

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

Composite GEFRI Score

Global rankRegional rankCountryScore
191Israel84.75
322United Arab Emirates80.68
393Saudi Arabia76.67
424Malta75.34
465Qatar72.99
536Bahrain71.18
627Oman69.09
728Kuwait68.04
769Morocco66.91
7710Jordan66.65
8211Tunisia64.69
9012Egypt, Arab Rep.60.85
10613Iran, Islamic Rep.FCS56.11
10814Algeria54.87
11015West Bank and GazaFCS53.03
11916Djibouti46.86
12217IraqFCS44.97
12618LebanonFCS43.40
13119LibyaFCS42.27
14820Syrian Arab RepublicFCS34.76
16321Yemen, Rep.FCS28.79