Egypt has ranked poorly in a report on scientific research and education published by the Information and Decision Support Centre.

The report recorded 343 patents issued by the Egyptian Patent Office in the year until November 2011, of which only 12.2 per cent were issued to Egyptians.

Israel was ranked first among 142 countries in the quality index of scientific research. It was followed by Switzerland, the USA and Japan. Egypt was ranked 113.

Egypt's educational system fell four places to 135 in the year 2010-2011. Switzerland placed first and Israel was 48.  As for the index measuring the quality of science and mathematics education, Egypt ranked 132, while Singapore topped the list and Israel was ranked 79.

In terms of the degree of cooperation between universities and the business sector in the fields of research and development in 2010-2011, Egypt ranked 128, Israel came seventh and Switzerland topped the list.

Qatar was the top ranked Arab country and tenth in the world in terms of the degree of cooperation between universities and the business sector, followed by Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Egypt was 40 in the world regarding the availability of scientists, a drop from 25 the year before.

The report placed Egypt 122 for attracting scientists, falling from 114 the year before, indicating a scientific brain drain.

The total funds allocated for scientific research from the public budget in Egypt during 2009-2010 was 2.4 billion Egyptian pounds, indicating a 0.7 per cent rise from 2008-2009.

Egypt was ranked 106 globally in terms of spending on scientific research and development in 2010-2011, falling from 74 in 2009-2010.