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Education Rank (WT20 2024)

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Education Rankings by Country 2024

Snapshot

  • There is a correlation between a country's educational system quality and its economic status, with developed nations offering higher quality education.

  • The U.S., despite ranking high in educational system surveys, falls behind in math and science scores compared to many other countries.

  • Educational system adequacy varies globally, with some countries struggling due to internal conflicts, economic challenges, or underfunded programs.

While education levels vary from country to country, there is a clear correlation between the quality of a country's educational system and its general economic status and overall well-being. In general, developing nations tend to offer their citizens a higher quality of education than the least developed nations do, and fully developed nations offer the best quality of education of all. Education is clearly a vital contributor to any country's overall health.

According to the Global Partnership for Education, education is considered to be a human right and plays a crucial role in human, social, and economic development. Education promotes gender equality, fosters peace, and increases a person's chances of having more and better life and career opportunities.

"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." — Nelson Mandela

The annual Best Countries Report, conducted by US News and World Report, BAV Group, and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, reserves an entire section for education. The report surveys thousands of people across 78 countries, then ranks those countries based upon the survey's responses. The education portion of the survey compiles scores from three equally-weighted attributes: a well-developed public education system, would consider attending university there, and provides top-quality education. As of 2023, the top ten countries based on education rankings are:

Countries with the Best Educational Systems - 2021 Best Countries Report*

Ironically, despite the United States having the best-surveyed education system on the globe, U.S students consistently score lower in math and science than students from many other countries. According to a Business Insider report in 2018, the U.S. ranked 38th in math scores and 24th in science. Discussions about why the United States' education rankings have fallen by international standards over the past three decades frequently point out that government spending on education has failed to keep up with inflation.

It's also worthwhile to note that while the Best Countries study is certainly respectable, other studies use different methodologies or emphasize different criteria, which often leads to different results. For example, the Global Citizens for Human Rights' annual study measures ten levels of education from early childhood enrollment rates to adult literacy. Its final 2020 rankings look a bit different:

Education Rates of Children Around the World

Most findings and ranking regarding education worldwide involve adult literacy rates and levels of education completed. However, some studies look at current students and their abilities in different subjects.

One of the most-reviewed studies regarding education around the world involved 470,000 fifteen-year-old students. Each student was administered tests in math, science, and reading similar to the SAT or ACT exams (standardized tests used for college admissions in the U.S.) These exam scores were later compiled to determine each country's average score for each of the three subjects. Based on this study, China received the highest scores, followed by Korea, Finland, Hong Kong, Singapore, Canada, New Zealand, Japan, Australia and the Netherlands.

On the down side, there are many nations whose educational systems are considered inadequate. This could be due to internal conflict, economic problems, or underfunded programs. The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization's Education for All Global Monitoring Report ranks the following countries as having the world's worst educational systems:

Countries with the Lowest Adult Literacy Rates

Notes:
- Education rankings are sourced from both the annual UN News Best Countries report and the nonprofit organization World Top 20

Download Table Data

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Country
Literacy Rate
Data Year
Education Rank (WT20 2024)
Education Rank (USN 2023)
Education Rank (USN 2022)
Education Rank (USN 2021)
Education Rank (USN 2020)
Somalia41%2022203
South Sudan35%2018202
Andorra100%2016201
DR Congo81%2022200
Zambia88%2020198
Syria86%2015197
Angola72%2022196
Guinea Bissau54%2022195
Gabon86%2022194
Haiti62%2016193
Zimbabwe90%202219287
Nigeria62%2018191
Micronesia0%190
Nicaragua83%2015189
Iraq0%18877
Libya91%2015187
Equatorial Guinea95%2015186
Botswana89%2015185
Republic of the Congo81%2021184
Bermuda0%183
Tonga99%2021182
Palestine0%181
Paraguay95%2020180
Ethiopia52%2017179
Vanuatu89%2021178
Namibia92%2021177
Malawi68%2022176
Bosnia and Herzegovina98%2022175
Lebanon95%201917471597069
Palau97%2015173
Puerto Rico92%2021172
Guyana90%2022171
Trinidad and Tobago98%2000170
Turkmenistan99%2005169
Niue0%168
North Macedonia98%2012167
Ukraine100%202116648434038
Aruba98%2020165
United Arab Emirates98%202216428282728
Cyprus99%202116347
Guinea45%2021162
Central African Republic37%2020161
Chad27%2022160
Mozambique63%2021159
Gambia59%2022158
Bahamas0%157
Uganda81%2022156
Mali31%2020155
Senegal58%2022154
Marshall Islands98%2011153
Comoros62%2022152
Burundi76%2022151
Liberia48%2017150
Tanzania82%2022149
Madagascar77%2022148
Niger38%2022147
Afghanistan37%2021146
Brazil94%202114532353630
Cuba100%2021144
Burkina Faso34%2022143
Eritrea77%2018142
Cameroon78%20201418578
Barbados100%2014140
Mauritania67%2021139
Sudan61%2018138
Djibouti0%137
Pakistan58%2019136
Ivory Coast90%2019135
Bulgaria98%202113451574943
Rwanda76%2021133
Honduras89%201913276
Yemen70%2015131
Benin47%2022130
Lesotho82%2022129
Suriname95%2021128
Jordan98%202112753545853
Guatemala84%202212686857873
Sierra Leone49%2022125
Tuvalu0%124
Papua New Guinea64%2015123
Bangladesh75%20201228480
Togo67%2019121
Cambodia84%2022120837375
Sao Tome and Principe94%2022119
Cape Verde91%2022118
Solomon Islands77%1999117
Panama96%201911675766056
Jamaica89%2015115
South Africa90%202111441363332
Morocco77%202211356585757
El Salvador90%20201128274
Venezuela98%2022111
North Korea0%110
Myanmar89%201910974797671
Moldova100%2021108
Thailand94%202110744484648
Ghana80%20201067769
Eswatini89%2020105
Tunisia84%202210472756763
Uruguay99%2019103616656
Laos88%2022102
India74%201810134343234
British Virgin Islands0%100
Romania99%20219943454740
Armenia100%202098
Saint Lucia0%97
Dominican Republic95%20219669726960
Bolivia94%202095
Dominica0%94
Kuwait96%202093
Nauru0%92
Qatar94%20179133394137
Kenya83%20229070716868
Malaysia95%20198939403839
Bhutan72%202288
Tajikistan100%201087
Azerbaijan100%20198666616561
Belize81%200185
Egypt75%20228437373942
Liechtenstein0%83
Bahrain98%2018825960
Iran89%2021818174
Montenegro99%202180
Gibraltar0%79
Mauritius92%202178
Peru94%20207768646459
Croatia99%20217646444333
Antigua and Barbuda99%200175
Colombia96%20207454565149
Algeria81%2018736767
Kiribati0%72
Philippines96%20197152505552
Georgia100%202270
Timor Leste70%202069
Serbia99%20196857686358
Indonesia96%20206758525455
Albania99%202266
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines97%198065
Kyrgyzstan100%201964
Uzbekistan100%202263808472
Macau0%62
Sri Lanka0%6179816667
Maldives98%202160
Saint Kitts and Nevis0%59
Oman97%20225863706262
Belarus100%20195764535251
Nepal71%202156
Malta95%202155
Ecuador94%20225473657365
Vietnam96%20195365625964
Mongolia99%202052
Seychelles96%202051
Samoa99%202150
Fiji99%201849
San Marino100%201848
Brunei98%202147
Grenada99%201446
Saudi Arabia98%20204538323546
Costa Rica98%20214462636154
Kazakhstan100%20204378827170
Luxembourg0%422221
Slovakia0%4150474544
Chile97%20224049514835
Mexico95%20203940413736
Argentina99%20183835333429
Turkey97%20193730313131
Italy99%20183614131416
Austria0%3516171613
Czech Republic99%2011343130
Greece98%20183329292826
Taiwan99%201432
United States0%311111
Hungary99%202130363830
Lithuania100%20212960464245
Switzerland0%287666
New Zealand0%2715141114
Estonia100%20212642424447
Latvia100%20212555495050
Portugal97%20212424242520
Poland100%20212325272623
Russia100%20212227252321
Israel92%19832126262425
Spain99%20202017181718
Canada0%194443
Iceland0%18
Australia0%178987
France0%165555
Sweden0%159898
Hong Kong0%14
China97%20201323232224
United Kingdom0%122222
Singapore97%20201120222119
Ireland0%10212020
Norway0%913121312
Finland0%812151515
Germany0%73334
Japan0%667711
Slovenia100%2001545555341
Belgium0%4181618
Netherlands0%31110109
Denmark0%210111210
South Korea0%119191922
New Caledonia97%2006
Guam100%2000
Cayman Islands99%2021
Greenland100%2015
American Samoa97%1980
Total73.12%
showing: 207 rows

Which country ranks first in education?

Graduation, enrollment totals, and literacy rates determine the overall education ranking. Germany ranks first in education with 99% literacy and a 0.94 ranking.

Which country ranks last in education?

Niger ranks last in established educational systems with a 28.7% adult literacy rank.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources