01. Canada
Photo — Link
Thinkstock> Pct. population with tertiary education: 51%
> Average annual growth rate (2000-2010): 2.4% (5th lowest)
> GDP per capita: $39,050 (11th highest)
Canada is the only nation where more than half of all adults had a
tertiary education in 2010. This was up from 40% of the adult population
in 2000, when the country also ranked as the world’s most educated.
Canada has managed to become a world leader in education without being a
leader in education spending, which totaled just 6.1% of GDP in 2009,
or less than the 6.3% average for the OECD. A large amount of its
spending went towards tertiary education, on which the country spent
2.5% of GDP, trailing only the United States and South Korea. One of the
few areas Canada did not perform well in was attracting international
students, who made up just 6.6% of all tertiary students — lower than
the OECD’s 8% average.
02. Israel
Photo — Link
Thinkstock> Pct. population with tertiary education: 46%
> Average annual growth rate (2000-2010): N/A
> GDP per capita: $26,531 (13th lowest)
Israel only joined the OECD in 2010. That year, its GDP per capita was
more than $7,000 below the OECD’s average. Despite this, the country’s
high school graduation rate was 92% in 2010, well above the OECD’s 84%
average. Some 46% of residents had a tertiary education, versus 31% for
the OECD. Israel spent 7.2% of GDP on educational institutions in 2009,
the sixth most among all nations. And for the first time, preschool
education will become free in 2012 even for children as young as three
years old, Haaretz newspaper reported. This should benefit Israel as,
according to the OECD, “early childhood education is associated with
better performance later on in school.”
03. Japan
Photo — Link
Thinkstock> Pct. population with tertiary education: 45%
> Average annual growth rate (2000-2010): 2.9% (10th lowest)
> GDP per capita: $33,785 (18th highest)
In 2009, Japan spent 1.6% of GDP on college or college equivalent
education, on par with the OECD’s average, and just 5.2% of GDP on
education overall, well below the OECD’s 6.3% average. Despite its
relatively light spending, the country still had a high school
graduation rate of 96%, the second best among all nations in 2010, while
the percentage of its population with a tertiary education was 14
percentage points higher than the OECD’s average. However, according to
The Wall Street Journal, recent university graduates in Japan have
struggled to find work, with 15% those graduating in the spring of 2012
neither employed nor enrolled in further education as of August.
04. United States
Photo — Link
Thinkstock> Pct. population with tertiary education: 42%
> Average annual growth rate (2000-2010): 1.3% (2nd lowest)
> GDP per capita: $46,548 (4th highest)
Although the U.S. is one of just a few nations where more than 40% of
people had a tertiary education in 2010, its education system is not
without problems. Among the concerns, the graduation rate for upper
secondary students in 2010 was 77%, well below the average rate of 84%
for the OECD. Even though graduation rates were relatively low, the U.S.
is one of the biggest spenders on education, with related expenditures
equaling 7.3% of GDP in 2009. The U.S. was also the world’s largest
spender on tertiary education in 2009, at 2.6% of GDP. The majority of
funds for higher education, totaling 1.6% of GDP, came from private
sources.
05. New Zealand
Photo — Link
Thinkstock> Pct. population with tertiary education: 41%
> Average annual growth rate (2000-2010): 3.5% (13th highest)
> GDP per capita: $29,711 (17th lowest)
The tiny country’s population has grown 13.2% between 2000 and 2010, as
has the country’s education system. The number of people with a college
or college equivalent education rose from 29% to 41% over the period.
The country also has become a destination of choice for international
students, who made up 14.2% of tertiary students in 2010. New Zealand is
also a leader in educating scientists, with 16% of students choosing a
science for their field of study at the tertiary level — the highest
proportion of any country.
....
06. South Korea
Photo — Link
Thinkstock> Pct. population with tertiary education: 40%
> Average annual growth rate (2000-2010): 5.2% (6th highest)
> GDP per capita: $28,797 (16th lowest)
Between 2000 and 2010, the percentage of South Koreans with a college
education or more rose from 24% to 40%. In addition to being
well-educated, many residents also invested considerable amounts towards
their schooling. In 2009, only Iceland spent more than South Korea’s 8%
of GDP. That year, no country in the study contributed more private
funds for education at all levels than South Korea, at 3.1% of GDP, or
for tertiary education, at 1.9%. Despite the investment, education does
not appear to have a measurable impact on job seekers. The unemployment
rate in 2010 for those with a tertiary degree was 3.3% — low relative to
the OECD average of 4.7%, but not much lower than the 3.7% rate for all
workers in the country.
07. United Kingdom
Photo — Link
Thinkstock> Pct. population with tertiary education: 38%
> Average annual growth rate: 4.0% (10th highest)
> GDP per capita: $35,756 (15th highest)
Between 2000 and 2010, the percentage of U.K. residents with a tertiary
education rose 12 percentage points. The country’s universities are also
popular among students from other nations. International students make
up 16% of enrollment. The country recently has had a shift in how
education is financed. While in 2000 the percentage of funds from
private sources was 14.8%, it rose to 31.1% by 2009. Students also must
cover more of the cost of higher education than in the past, as the cap
on tuition fees was raised from 3,290 pounds to 9,000 pounds for the
2012-2013 year.
08. Finland
Photo — Link
Thinkstock> Pct. population with tertiary education: 38%
> Average annual growth rate (2000-2010): 1.8% (4th lowest)
> GDP per capita: $36,307 (14th highest)
Finland spent 6.4% of its gross domestic product on education in 2009,
with 97.6% of these funds coming from public sources, more than any
country in the report. Between 2000 and 2010, high school graduation
rates rose by just two percentage points, while the number of people
with a college education or more rose by just six percentage points. As a
result, Finland fell from fourth to eighth place among the world’s most
educated countries. Finnish workers with a tertiary education were far
more likely to be employed than those without such an education — the
unemployment rate was 4.4% for residents with a degree and 8.4% for
those without.
09. Australia
Photo — Link
Thinkstock> Pct. population with tertiary education: 38%
> Average annual growth rate (2000-2010): 3.2% (12th lowest)
> GDP per capita: $40,790 (6th highest)
Australia is a preferred destination for many international students,
which is why it should come as no surprise that they accounted for 21.2%
of the country’s tertiary students in 2010, higher than every country
other than Luxembourg. Finding a job in the country is not especially
hard for those with a college degree. The country had an unemployment
rate of just 2.8% in 2010 for workers with a tertiary degree, compared
to a rate of just 5.2% for all workers.
10. Ireland
Photo — Link
Thinkstock> Pct. population with tertiary education: 37%
> Average annual growth rate (2000-2010): 7.3% (the highest)
> GDP per capita: $40,478 (7th highest)
From 2000 through 2010, the percentage of people with a college
education or more in Ireland nearly doubled, rising at an annual average
of 7.3% — faster than any country in the study. High school graduation
rates also rose during that time, from 74% to 94%. Education has become
especially critical for male job seekers in Ireland’s workforce, as 6.3%
of men with a tertiary education were unemployed in 2010 versus 15.2%
for all men nationwide.
