The Most Educated Countries in the World

Between 2010 and 2011, the percentage of adults with a college degree in the United States remained unchanged at 42%. Since 2000, the proportion of college graduates has grown at one of the slowest rates among developed countries. At the same time, the country continues to score worse than most developed nations in high-level math and reading skills.

According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s latest report, as of 2011, an estimated 53.5% of Russian adults held a tertiary degree, which is the equivalent of a college degree in the United States. It was the highest proportion among the developed countries considered by the OECD. While the U.S. has failed to improve recently, it still did far better than most, ranking fifth overall. 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the 10 countries with the highest proportion of adults holding a college degree.

The most educated populations tend to be in countries where spending on all levels of education is among the highest. The United States, for example, spent 7.3% of its gross domestic product (GDP) on education in 2010, the sixth highest among the countries reviewed by the OECD. Eight of the 10 most educated countries spent more than the OECD average on education, both as a percentage of GDP and in dollars per capita.

Russia and Japan are exceptions to this trend. In Russia, per student spending on education was just 4.9% of GDP, or barely more than $5,000 per student. Both figures were among the lowest among all countries reviewed. In the United States, spending per pupil was more than three times as much.


THE MOST EDUCATED COUNTRIES


10. Australia
> Pct. population with tertiary education: 38.3%
> Average annual growth rate (2000-2011): 3.1%
> Education expenditure as pct. of GDP: 6.1% (15th lowest)

9. Finland
> Pct. population with tertiary education: 39.3%
> Average annual growth rate (2000-2011): 1.7%
> Education expenditure as pct. of GDP: 6.5% (11th highest)

8. New Zealand
> Pct. population with tertiary education: 39.3%
> Average annual growth rate (2000-2011): 2.9%
> Education expenditure as pct. of GDP: 7.3% (7th highest)

7. United Kingdom
> Pct. population with tertiary education: 39.4%
> Average annual growth rate (2000-2011): 4.0%
> Education expenditure as pct. of GDP: 6.5% (12th highest)

6. Korea
> Pct. population with tertiary education: 40.4%
> Average annual growth rate (2000-2011): 4.9% (6th highest)
> Education expenditure as pct. of GDP: 7.6% (3rd highest)

5. United States
> Pct. population with tertiary education: 42.5%
> Average annual growth rate (2000-2011): 1.4% (the least)
> Education expenditure as pct. of GDP: 7.3% (6th highest)

4. Israel
> Pct. population with tertiary education: 46.4%
> Average annual growth rate (2000-2011): n/a
> Education expenditure as pct. of GDP: 7.5% (5th highest)

3. Japan
> Pct. population with tertiary education: 46.4%
> Average annual growth rate (2000-2011): 3.0% (14th lowest)
> Education expenditure as pct. of GDP: 5.1% (6th lowest)

2. Canada
> Pct. population with tertiary education: 51.3%
> Average annual growth rate (2000-2011): 2.3%
> Education expenditure as pct. of GDP: 6.6% (10th highest)

1. Russian Federation
> Pct. population with tertiary education: 53.5%
> Average annual growth rate (2000-2011): n/a
> Education expenditure as pct. of GDP: 4.9% (5th lowest)


- 247wallst.com