Kuwait Plunges 8 Spots In 'World Economic Forum' Tech Index

According to the World Economic Forum's "network readiness index" Kuwait dropped eight places from number 46 to 54. The UAE (29) led the way in terms of information and technology among the Gulf countries, with Qatar (36) making the most inroads this year, but Bahrain (50) and others suffered as well (LINK).

Kuwait is now the lowest ranked among the Gulf countries.

Click HERE for Country Rankings.

Click HERE for WEF's Global Information Technology Report.

An excerpt:

The Gulf Arab countries may be rich, but when it comes to exploiting technology to be more competitive, they're falling behind rivals in Asia, Europe and Africa.

The Gulf countries consume a lot of technology: Internet and mobile phone penetration is high. But several factors pull down their scores, including poor educational systems. There's also a shortage of scientists and engineers. And bureaucracy is suffocating while judicial independence is lacking.

The Arab technological slide sends worrying signals about the future of the currently booming economies, which include Dubai, now considered the fastest-growing city in the world.

Adoption of the latest technology is critical for fast-developing countries like those in the Persian Gulf, where leaders are trying to diversify beyond oil and gas exports.

Gulf investors are too interested in a quick profit, and they're not building institutions that allow technology to flourish.

The technological slide has allowed poorer countries to leapfrog the wealthy Gulf states. For instance, in 2006 Mexico and Jamaica jumped ahead of Kuwait and Bahrain, both of which are far wealthier on a per-capita basis.

Kuwait's poor performance stems from its handouts of government jobs to Kuwaitis. The practice has diverted money from education and infrastructure, said Kuwaiti economist Jassem al-Saadoun.