RIYADH: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has progressed in 16 indexes related to education, research and innovation according to the World Competitiveness Yearbook 2022 report, issued by the Global Competitiveness Center of the International Institute for Management Development. The upward trajectory is a reflection of the leadership’s support for the education sector. In the management education index, Kingdom advanced to 24th position this year from 40th last year. In the language skills development index, Kingdom ranks at 20th place now from 32nd last year. In qualified engineers, knowledge exchange and digital skills, the Kingdom advanced by 10 positions in each index, advancing to 26th, 23rd and 7th position this year. It also advanced two positions in scientific infrastructure, garnering 30th position this year compared to 32nd position in 2021. The Kingdom’s education sector advanced nine places in the university education achievements index, ranking 28th in 2022 compared to 37th last year. The Kingdom also jumped to 31st place this year in the global rankings of universities, as per the Times Higher Education magazine for world universities, compared to 39th position in 2021. In the Shanghai Global Rankings of Academic Subjects 2022, the number of Saudi universities increases to 7 universities, compared to 4 in 2019. As for the intellectual property rights index, Saudi Arabia reached 26th position this year compared to 30th last year.