In this piece, we will take a look at the 35 countries with the best education in the world. If you want to skip our overview of the global education industry and all the latest trends, then you can take a look at the 10 Countries With The Best Education in the World.
Universities all over the world offer all kinds of programs to anyone talented enough to secure admission and fund their studies. Publishing companies such as Pearson plc (NYSE:PSO) are multi billion dollar enterprises, and other firms such as the Australian consultancy IDP Education Limited (ASX:IEL.AX) help thousands of people all over the world move across continents to secure access to education.
Gaining an education often requires decades of years as an investment. Companies, like TAL Education Group (NYSE:TAL), spend resources and provide products for the first phase of an individual's education journey, i.e., schooling. Then, firms like Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) and Laureate Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LAUR) provide a diversified set of services to students during their college and university years. Overall, billions of dollars are spent on education each year, and for the most ambitious of students, an educational journey can last as long as three decades starting from pre schooling.
At the same time, the age of the Internet and the knowledge economy has fundamentally transformed the global educational landscape. The utility offered by a four year college degree in the United States depended on universities being a place where students could access resources to hone their knowledge about advanced subjects. Now, these very materials are available online, allowing companies such as 2U, Inc. (NASDAQ:TWOU) to become stock market roller coasters in just five years.
What does this mean? Well, 2U is best known for running the online education platform edX and its business is based on revenue sharing with universities that offer the lectures and grade the assignments. Like other online technology companies, such as Zoom Video Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZM), 2U's shares blossomed during the COVID-19 lockdown era as online education appeared to be a viable alternative to traditional classroom based instruction. However, even during the pandemic, the stock was struggling to meet its 2018 levels, and since 2018, the shares have tanked by 99% on the stock market. Investing in online education, it appears, requires a selective approach that can mean entire positions are wiped out if the stocks are not consistently monitored. 2023 was quite a controversial year for 2U as well, since it had to end ties with the University of California's social work school.
Yet, even though 2U might be a shadow of its former self on the stock market, one thing that is certain is that attitudes towards education are changing. A 2023 poll from Gallup shows that only 37% of Americans now believe that higher education leads to better well being, a figure that marks consistent annual drops.
So, with the global education landscape changing as we advance in the 21st century, we decided to take a look at the countries with the best education system in the world.
35 Countries With The Best Education in the World
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Our Methodology
To make our list of the countries with the best education in the world, we ranked countries based on their annual education spending as a percentage of their gross domestic product (GDP), the number of highly ranked universities in each country, and the years of schooling for young adults.
Then, since the GDP percentage does not account for large differences in GDP, its weight was reduced and the weights of education index and number of universities were increased. The scores were averaged, and the countries with the best education in the world are as follows. Data relied on by the rankings was sourced from UNESCO and our coverage of the 30 Countries With Best Universities In The World.
Countries With The Best Education in the World
35. Republic of Lithuania
Insider Monkey's Score: 39.20
Lithuania offers free public higher education and ranks high on the education index. However, teacher salaries and other issues continue to hamper the education system.
35. Swiss Confederation
Insider Monkey's Score: 38.50
Switzerland is a highly developed European country with a GDP of $788 billion. There is little federal involvement across Swiss education, and the country has a litany of public and private schools and universities.
34. Kingdom of Belgium
Insider Monkey's Score: 38.06
Belgium is another prosperous European nation. It is known for high levels of post secondary enrollment as well as literacy levels. Belgium makes it on our list of the countries with the best education also because a large portion of its GDP is spent on education.
33. Slovak Republic
Insider Monkey's Score: 37.76
Slovakia, the third European country on our list provides parental assistance for funding their children's education. It has public and private universities and ranks high in global assessment scores.
32. Kingdom of Sweden
Insider Monkey's Score: 37.04
Sweden is part of the group of European nations called the Nordic countries. What this means is that education is free for its citizens, and the costs are so low that international students who want quality on a budget are also drawn to Sweden's shores.
31. Republic of Ireland
Insider Monkey's Score: 36.74
Ireland is an island European country with a federally regulated school education system. It ranks high on the UNESCO education index, and citizens benefit from free primary and secondary education.
30. Kingdom of Denmark
Insider Monkey's Score: 36.73
Another Nordic country, Denmark also has free primary and secondary education. Also, it is one of the few countries in the world with no school exams.
29. Singapore
Insider Monkey's Score: 36.43
Singapore is one of the most prosperous nations in the world when it comes to GDP per capita. It ranks among the top ten countries in the education index, and primary education is compulsory for all citizens.
28. Commonwealth of Australia
Insider Monkey's Score: 35.79
Australia is one of the most popular destinations when it comes to international students. Its universities offer a diverse set of pathways to entry, and educational spending as a proportion of GDP is also high.
27. Federated Republic of Brazil
Insider Monkey's Score: 35.55
Brazil is one of the most developed countries in South America. However, education in the country often depends on the ability to pay.
26. Iceland
Insider Monkey's Score: 35.02
Iceland is the third Nordic country on our list of countries with the best education. Unsurprisingly, it has universal education and places high standards on homeschooling.
25. Kingdom of Norway
Insider Monkey's Score: 34.51
Norway provides free education to its citizens and those of the European Union and Switzerland. Unlike in the U.S., a bachelor's degree is three years in Norway.
24. United Mexican States
Insider Monkey's Score: 33.90
Mexico is known for its high ranking universities. However, it ranks low in the education performance of citizens and overall spending.
23. Republic of Türkiye
Insider Monkey's Score: 31.30
Turkiye, formerly known as Turkey, is a European and Asian country. It is quite advanced when it comes to engineering and technology, indicating the presence of a robust educational system.
22. Malaysia
Insider Monkey's Score: 30.59
Malaysia is a Southeast Asian country that is known for its world renowned universities. Primary education is compulsory in the country.
21. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Insider Monkey's Score: 25.96
The oil rich Arab nation Saudi Arabia also boasts several high ranking universities. However, it ranks quite low when it comes to educational spending as a percentage of GDP.
20. Republic of Chile
Insider Monkey's Score: 21.55
Chile has several high ranking universities, and unlike the European countries on our list, most institutions in the country typically charge a fee.
19. Italian Federation
Insider Monkey's Score: 19.60
Italy is a high ranking country when it comes to having some of the best universities in the world. It is also one of the most prosperous countries in the world.
18. Republic of Kazakhstan
Insider Monkey's Score: 19.25
Kazakhstan is a former Soviet state and a Central Asian country. It secures a place on our list due to its high education index ranking and some great universities.
17. French Republic
Insider Monkey's Score: 17.82
France is one of the most technologically advanced nations in the world. It follows a secular education system and has some of the best universities in the world such as HEC Paris and others also criticized as being elitist.
16. Kingdom of Spain
Insider Monkey's Score: 16.56
Spain is yet another European country on our list of the best countries in education. With a $1.5 trillion GDP, it is one of the biggest economies on the planet. The economic prosperity is also evident through the fact that Spain ranks number 13th when it comes to countries with the best universities.
15. Argentine Republic
Insider Monkey's Score: 16.21
Argentina is a South American country with a $621 billion economy. It has a rather interesting education system that allows pre-school enrollment for babies aged 45 days!
14. Russian Federation
Insider Monkey's Score: 15.87
Russia is known for its fighter jets, space program, and other heavy engineering endeavors. All of these require a high quality education system.
13. Republic of Poland
Insider Monkey's Score: 15.85
Poland is a Central European country that provides free university education to its citizens. It also has the unique honor of having the world's oldest education ministry.
12. Czech Republic
Insider Monkey's Score: 15.17
Czechia also provides tuition free university coverage and is among the few countries on our list that have several universities that have remained standing for centuries.
11. Netherlands
Insider Monkey's Score: 14.16
The Netherlands is one of the most developed countries in the world. It ranks high on the education index and educational spending as a percentage of GDP.