GDEI is a comprehensive index developed by CNAES, based on evidence-based evaluation paradigms, to assess the overall development level of digital education in various countries. By conducting a thorough and systematic collection and analysis of various online data from international organizations and 206 countries and regions, 62 leading countries with relatively complete data and better digital education were selected, establishing a global digital education development evidence base. The research suggested six core dimensions for assessing the progress of global digital education: new literacy, new systems, new institutions, new content, new paradigms, and new governance. These were based on shared global concerns. Combining expert opinions and practical situation verification, the research constructs an indicator system, develops evaluation standards, and completes the initial index calculation.

After conducting an in-depth and comprehensive analysis of the index results and evidence, CNAES proposed that global digital education development can be divided into five stages: transformation initiation, resource sharing, data-driven, AI integration, and ecosystem reshaping. Among the 62 leading countries, 13% are still in the transformation initiation stage, 68% are in the resource sharing stage, and 19% have achieved the data-driven stage. Leading countries are exploring the AI integration stage, while the ecosystem reshaping stage remains an aspirational goal for various countries and has not yet been achieved.