The 11 most educated countries in the world.

Print

These countries make sure their citizens will study, a lot. 

As a part of its annual Global Competitiveness Report, The World Economic Forum has ranked the most educated countries in the world.

The WEF created the index using a variety of objective and subjective measures.

The lowest possible score is 1, and the highest is 7.

European countries dominate the list, even though it is a non-European country that tops it.

Scandinavian countries also dominate the list, partly because public expenditure in the region is generally very high.

Here is a complete list of countries:

 

11. Iceland

Score: 5.9

The tiny Nordic country of Iceland has a population of 330,000. Although it ranks highly in the global index, it spends the least on educational spending of the Nordic countries.

 

10. New Zealand

Score: 5.9

New Zealand constantly ranks among the top education systems in the world. The country's education department is innovative: in September, the government outlined plans to introduce online education courses, whereby students are not required to attend school on certain days of the week.

 

9. Australia

Score: 5.9

Australia is a well-educated country, and has a particularly high proportion of tertiary-educated adults. 43% of adults have trained at an institution after leaving school - that's behind only Canada, Japan, Korea, the US, and the UK.

 

8. United States

Score: 5.9

A large proportion of adults in America have a university education - 43%. That is the fifth highest proportion in the OECD.

 

7. Norway

Score: 5.9

Norway has high levels of taxation and invests heavily in education. It devotes an annual expenditure of approximately $14,000 per pupil from primary to tertiary education - the third highest figure in the OECD.

 

6. Denmark

Score: 5.9

Denmark is the OECD country that spent the largest share of its wealth on education, with a total expenditure on educational institutions of 7.9% of its GDP. It is a major priority in the country: it was one of the few countries where education expenditure actually grew during the financial crash of 2008.

 

5. Belgium

Score: 6.0

In Belgium, higher education pays: unemployment rates for those with a higher education is just 3%. Unemployment rates are lower than the European average for every other level of education, too.

Teaching is a well-paid profession in the country: teachers’ salaries are on average $74,000 adjusted for purchasing power. The OECD average is £39,000 $52,000.

 

4. Switzerland

Score: 6.0

A large majority of Switzerland's population has attained a full secondary education: 86% of 25-64 year olds. The country spends a lot on it: an average of $16,000 per student per year, compared to the EU average of £7,500 $9,500.

 

3. Netherlands

Score: 6.1

The Dutch rank highly in many fields of education. A third of Dutch 25-64 year olds hold a university degree, which is significantly higher than the OECD average of 24%.

 

2. Finland

Score: 6.2

Finland's education system is widely-acclaimed, especially since a 2010 documentary, "Waiting for Superman," compared it favorably with the USA's. Teachers are selected from the top 10 percent of the country's graduates, and are required to earn a master's degree in education.

 

1. Singapore

Score: 6.3

Singapore's education system is the most highly-regarded in the world, but it is also famously known as a "pressure cooker" for its intensity and strictness. Global comparisons of math’s and science ability are often topped by Singapore's school system.

 

 

 

 

Tags: Trending News