The 5 most educated countries in the world

[Elmo]

The 5 most educated countries in the world


The Christian Science Monitor - CSMonitor.com


The 5 most educated countries in the world - Russia - CSMonitor.com

By Whitney Eulich, Staff writer
posted September 27, 2012 at 5:16 pm EDT


The Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development recently released its Education at a Glance 2012 report. The report examines OECD and G20 countries where the data was available. According to the report, which includes vocational training as part of higher education/post-secondary education, here are the five most educated countries in the world:

1.Russia

Post-secondary education: 54 percent of the population
Annual growth rate for that group: n/a


Russia, a part of the G20 but not an OECD country, is the most highly educated country in the world, according to the OECD’s study. Russia has a strong history of investing in education, with some 33 percent of adults completing their post secondary-level of education via vocational or technical programs.

Russia may not be able to hang on to its status as the most educated country in world for long, though. Korea and Japan’s young people are rapidly catching up.

The number of post-secondary foreign students in Russia has also increased. Between 2005 and 2010 there was an increase of 78 percent. Four percent of all international students getting higher education – including vocational training – abroad study in Russia. These are largely students from neighboring countries. The US, Britain, Australia, Germany, and France together educate half of all post-secondary-level students studying abroad.


2.Canada

Post-secondary education: 51 percent of the population
Annual growth rate for this group: 2.4 percent


Canada is the second most educated country in the world, and the most educated out of OECD countries. More than half of all Canadians between the ages of 25 and 64 have a college degree. Additionally, Canada spends $20,932 dollars per post-secondary student each year. Only Switzerland and the United States spend more.

And individual Canadians pay nearly as much themselves on their higher education: The total direct cost, on average, is $18,094.

Women with a college or university degree in Canada outpace lesser-educated women in pay by 55 percent there, which is the largest gap in pay rates between education levels in OECD countries. And though Canada is a global leader in higher education, according to a country-specific OECD economic survey, rates of participation in education will need to increase as its population ages if it is to hold onto its top spot and remain competitive in the global labor market.


3.Israel

Post-secondary education: 46 percent of the population
Annual growth rate for that group: n/a

In Israel, which has the third largest population of post-secondary degree holders, an estimated 37 percent of Israeli youth are expected to complete a post-secondary education in their lifetime. The average in OECD countries is 39 percent.

Israelis with post-secondary degrees are less likely to be unemployed than people with their equivalent education level in the average OECD country. The unemployment rate for this population in Israel is 4.2 percent, compared with the average OECD rate of 4.7 percent.


4.Japan

Post-secondary education: 45 percent of the population
Annual growth rate for that group: 2.9 percent

In Japan, the fourth most educated country in the world, students pay some of the highest tuitions among OECD countries: Japan has the fourth highest fees for higher education behind the US, Korea, and Britain. Additionally, the government spends only 0.5 of its GDP on post-secondary education, less than half of the OECD average of 1.1 percent of GDP.

Nearly 32 percent of Japan's funding for post-secondary education comes from private sources – the third highest percentage of privately sourced funding in the world.


5.United States

Post-secondary education: 42 percent of the population
Annual growth rate for that group: 1.3 percent

The US, the fifth most educated country in the world and the fourth most educated among OECD countries, is home to some of the most renowned institutions of higher education (see here for a list of the 2012 top universities in the world).

However, its growth rate for post-secondary education – 1.3 percent per year – is quite low in comparison to the OECD average of 3.7 percent, which means other countries could outpace the US in the coming years.

Although the US is one of the world leaders in higher education for people between the ages of 25 and 64, when looking at the percentage of those aged 25 to 34, it only ranks 14th globally.



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The 5 most educated countries in the world - Russia - CSMonitor.com

 

[Elmo]

Detailed report available here: http://www.oecd.org/edu/EAG 2012_e-book_EN_200912.pdf


Some excerpts that I would like to share:
"Youth in education

On average across OECD countries in 2010, 47% of 15-29 year-olds were in education (Table C5.4a). This proportion varies across countries. In Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Slovenia and Sweden, more than 50% of 15-29 year-olds were in education. In Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, the Netherlands and Sweden, the average duration of tertiary studies is also above the OECD average (see Table B1.3a).

Conversely, less than 35% of 15-29 year-olds were in education in Mexico and Turkey, and the
average duration of tertiary studies for individuals in these countries tends to be shorter. While individuals in Slovenia do not have a particularly long duration in tertiary education, Project Learning for Young Adults (PLYA) – an initiative begun in 1999 to assist 15-25 year-olds – has boosted education participation among the 20-29 year-old age group due to a rising number of student workers who are not in regular employment (OECD, 2009, page 106).

The proportion of individuals in education decreases with age in all OECD countries. On average across OECD countries in 2010, 86% of 15-19 year-olds were in education (Table C5.4a). In most OECD countries, education policy seeks to encourage youth to complete at least upper secondary education. The effect of these efforts is seen in young people’s strong participation in education beyond compulsory schooling (Table C5.4a).

In Belgium, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Luxembourg, Poland, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia, more than 90% of 15-19 year-olds were in education in 2010. In Mexico and Turkey, less than 61% of 15-19 year-olds were in education.

In 2010, 44% of 20-24 year-olds were in education, on average across OECD countries. Figures range from more than 60% in Luxembourg and Slovenia to around 25% in Mexico and Turkey (Table C5.4a).

Some 16% of 25-29 year-olds were in education in 2010, on average across OECD countries, with more than 30% in Iceland and Slovenia to less than 10% in Belgium, France, Greece, Hungary, Korea, Mexico, the Slovak Republic and Turkey (Table C5.4a).

Between 1998 and 2010, the proportion of 15-19 year-olds in education increased on average by 6 percentage points (an increase of 8%). The proportion of 20-24 year-olds in education increased on average by 10 percentage points (an increase of 28%), while the proportion of 25-29 year-olds in education increased on average by 3 percentage points (an increase of 26%) (Table C5.4a).

The average number of years expected in formal education after compulsory schooling has changed considerably over the past decade. In the Czech Republic, Hungary, Luxembourg, the Slovak Republic and Turkey, the average number of years in education increased by at least 1.5 years between 1998 and 2010, while in Estonia (between 2003 and 2010) and Spain, it decreased by at least 5 months (Table C5.1b, available on line).

In 2010, for all countries except Germany, Japan, Korea, Mexico, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Turkey, young women spend more time in education than young men. In Iceland, Norway and Sweden, young women are likely to spend one full year more in education than their male counterparts. Mexico and Turkey are the countries with the lowest average number of years in education for women between the ages of 15 and 29 – 5.0 and 4.3 years, respectively. In these two countries, women also have the highest average number of years expected outside the labour force – 5.1 and 7.0 years, respectively. These figures likely reflect the high numbers
of women in Mexico and Turkey who start families following education, rather than entering the workforce
(Table C5.1a).


"The Anglo-Saxon and Nordic countries, which have long traditions of working students, now have the highest percentage of unemployment among students, with more than 4% of 15-29 year-olds not working in Denmark, Finland, New Zealand and Sweden. In Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States, unemployment among 15-29 year-olds who are still in school ranges from 2% to 6.5% (Table C5.2a)."