Global Education Futures Readiness Index (GEFRI)

Client: n/a
Location: Global
Year: 2025
Focus: Education futures, data visualization, global benchmarking
Link: https://gefri.educationfutures.com

A global index to measure how ready countries are to shape and respond to the futures of education

The Global Education Futures Readiness Index (GEFRI) is a first-of-its-kind initiative developed by Education Futures LLC to benchmark how well countries are positioned to lead, adapt to, and shape emerging education futures. Moving beyond test scores and access metrics, GEFRI introduces a multidimensional framework for assessing national readiness across infrastructure, innovation, human capital, and governance. The index aims to inform policy, spark strategic investments, and help education systems prepare for a rapidly changing world.

Approach

GEFRI was developed through a two-phase process that combined methodological design with public data integration and visualization. The project began with a scan of over 150 global education and development indicators, which were then filtered down to a refined core set of 12 high-coverage, high-salience indicators. These span four dimensions: digital infrastructure, human capital, innovation ecosystems, and policy and governance.

Each country receives a composite score as well as dimension-specific rankings, enabling nuanced comparisons across contexts. Data is normalized and scored using a percentile-based ranking system, ensuring clarity and comparability. The index includes nearly every country in the world with available data.

To make GEFRI accessible and actionable, the team built a lightweight, open-access web application at gefri.educationfutures.com. The site includes interactive country dashboards, component-level breakdowns, and policy interpretation tools.

Deliverables

• GEFRI index architecture, including indicator framework and scoring methodology
• Global dataset of 200+ countries and territories with normalized scores
• Interactive web platform with global map, radar charts, and country-level insights
• Public JSON data exports for researchers and policymakers
• Technical documentation and user guide for interpretation and reuse

Impact

GEFRI reframes how we understand progress in education by focusing not just on past performance, but on future capacity. It offers a data-informed perspective on how prepared countries are to navigate disruption, foster innovation, and ensure education systems remain relevant in the face of technological, ecological, and geopolitical change. The index has been used by education researchers, donors, and ministries to guide forward-looking policy discussions and identify key areas for investment and reform.