World Education Statistics

What are the most educated countries in the world?

South Korea is the most educated country in the world with 69% of the population holding a 2-year degree or more. This is followed by Japan with an educated percentage of 60%, and Canada with 60%. These numbers are for 2015. A list of 44 countries is given below (most OECD countries plus a few others).

Country Educated percent of population
South Korea 69
Japan 60
Canada 59
Russia 58
Lithuania 55
Ireland 52
Luxembourg 50
Switzerland 49
United Kingdom 49
Australia 48
Norway 48
United States 47
Israel 46
Sweden 46
France 45
Netherlands 45
Denmark 44
Belgium 43
Poland 43
Estonia 41
Finland 41
Slovenia 41
Spain 41
Greece 40
Iceland 40
Latvia 40
Austria 39
New Zealand 39
Portugal 33
Hungary 32
Czech Republic 31
Slovakia 31
Germany 30
Costa Rica 28
Turkey 28
Chile 27
Colombia 27
Saudi Arabia 26
China 25
Italy 25
Mexico 21
Brazil 16
South Africa 14
Indonesia 11
Source: Wikipedia.

Which country has the most masters degree or PhDs?

Poland has the highest percentage of population with an advanced degree (defined as a 6-year degree or higher) at 31%, followed by Luxembourg at 27% and Slovakia at 25%. These numbers are for 2015. A more complete list is given below.

Country Percent of advanced degrees
Poland 31
Luxembourg 27
Slovakia 25
Slovenia 24
Switzerland 23
Portugal 21
Belgium 20
Czech Republic 20
Lithuania 17
Netherlands 17
Denmark 17
Spain 17
France 16
Estonia 16
Austria 15
Italy 15
United Kingdom 14
Sweden 14
Finland 14
Germany 14
Norway 13
Hungary 13
Latvia 12
Ireland 11
United States 11
Iceland 11
Canada 9
Australia 9
Israel 7
China 5
New Zealand 4
Greece 3
Turkey 2
Costa Rica 1
Chile 1
Mexico 1

Percent of educated population by age group

The age group with the highest percent of educated people generally tends to be the 25-34 group. This is probably because access to higher education and its necessity is increasing with time. South Korea has shown the highest improvements in education with age group. Canada has the highest percent of educated population in the 35-44 age group. Here is a list of countries for which data was available.

Country Age Group Percent of educated population
Canada 25–64(%) 54
Canada 25–34(%) 58
Canada 35–44(%) 61
Canada 45–54(%) 51
Canada 55–64(%) 45
Russia 25–64(%) 54
Russia 25–34(%) 58
Russia 35–44(%) 55
Russia 45–54(%) 53
Russia 55–64(%) 50
Israel 25–64(%) 49
Israel 25–34(%) 46
Israel 35–44(%) 53
Israel 45–54(%) 48
Israel 55–64(%) 47
Japan 25–64(%) 48
Japan 25–34(%) 59
Japan 35–44(%) 53
Japan 45–54(%) 47
Japan 55–64(%) 35
Luxembourg 25–64(%) 46
Luxembourg 25–34(%) 53
Luxembourg 35–44(%) 56
Luxembourg 45–54(%) 40
Luxembourg 55–64(%) 32
South Korea 25–64(%) 45
South Korea 25–34(%) 68
South Korea 35–44(%) 56
South Korea 45–54(%) 33
South Korea 55–64(%) 17
United States 25–64(%) 44
United States 25–34(%) 46
United States 35–44(%) 47
United States 45–54(%) 43
United States 55–64(%) 41
Australia 25–64(%) 42
Australia 25–34(%) 48
Australia 35–44(%) 46
Australia 45–54(%) 38
Australia 55–64(%) 33
Finland 25–64(%) 42
Finland 25–34(%) 40
Finland 35–44(%) 50
Finland 45–54(%) 44
Finland 55–64(%) 34
Norway 25–64(%) 42
Norway 25–34(%) 49
Norway 35–44(%) 49
Norway 45–54(%) 36
Norway 55–64(%) 32
United Kingdom 25–64(%) 42
United Kingdom 25–34(%) 49
United Kingdom 35–44(%) 46
United Kingdom 45–54(%) 38
United Kingdom 55–64(%) 35
Ireland 25–64(%) 41
Ireland 25–34(%) 51
Ireland 35–44(%) 49
Ireland 45–54(%) 34
Ireland 55–64(%) 24
Switzerland 25–64(%) 40
Switzerland 25–34(%) 46
Switzerland 35–44(%) 45
Switzerland 45–54(%) 38
Switzerland 55–64(%) 31
Sweden 25–64(%) 39
Sweden 25–34(%) 46
Sweden 35–44(%) 46
Sweden 45–54(%) 32
Sweden 55–64(%) 30
Estonia 25–64(%) 38
Estonia 25–34(%) 40
Estonia 35–44(%) 39
Estonia 45–54(%) 35
Estonia 55–64(%) 36
Belgium 25–64(%) 37
Belgium 25–34(%) 44
Belgium 35–44(%) 42
Belgium 45–54(%) 34
Belgium 55–64(%) 26
Iceland 25–64(%) 37
Iceland 25–34(%) 41
Iceland 35–44(%) 42
Iceland 45–54(%) 36
Iceland 55–64(%) 29
Lithuania 25–64(%) 37
Lithuania 25–34(%) 53
Lithuania 35–44(%) 38
Lithuania 45–54(%) 30
Lithuania 55–64(%) 28
Denmark 25–64(%) 36
Denmark 25–34(%) 42
Denmark 35–44(%) 41
Denmark 45–54(%) 33
Denmark 55–64(%) 29
New Zealand 25–64(%) 36
New Zealand 25–34(%) 40
New Zealand 35–44(%) 41
New Zealand 45–54(%) 32
New Zealand 55–64(%) 29
Spain 25–64(%) 35
Spain 25–34(%) 41
Spain 35–44(%) 43
Spain 45–54(%) 30
Spain 55–64(%) 21
Netherlands 25–64(%) 34
Netherlands 25–34(%) 44
Netherlands 35–44(%) 38
Netherlands 45–54(%) 30
Netherlands 55–64(%) 27
France 25–64(%) 32
France 25–34(%) 44
France 35–44(%) 39
France 45–54(%) 26
France 55–64(%) 20
Austria 25–64(%) 30
Austria 25–34(%) 38
Austria 35–44(%) 33
Austria 45–54(%) 27
Austria 55–64(%) 21
Latvia 25–64(%) 30
Latvia 25–34(%) 39
Latvia 35–44(%) 31
Latvia 45–54(%) 27
Latvia 55–64(%) 23
Slovenia 25–64(%) 29
Slovenia 25–34(%) 38
Slovenia 35–44(%) 35
Slovenia 45–54(%) 24
Slovenia 55–64(%) 18
Greece 25–64(%) 28
Greece 25–34(%) 39
Greece 35–44(%) 27
Greece 45–54(%) 26
Greece 55–64(%) 21
Germany 25–64(%) 27
Germany 25–34(%) 28
Germany 35–44(%) 29
Germany 45–54(%) 26
Germany 55–64(%) 25
Poland 25–64(%) 27
Poland 25–34(%) 43
Poland 35–44(%) 32
Poland 45–54(%) 18
Poland 55–64(%) 14
Hungary 25–64(%) 23
Hungary 25–34(%) 32
Hungary 35–44(%) 25
Hungary 45–54(%) 20
Hungary 55–64(%) 17
Colombia 25–64(%) 22
Colombia 25–34(%) 28
Colombia 35–44(%) 23
Colombia 45–54(%) 18
Colombia 55–64(%) 16
Czech Republic 25–64(%) 22
Czech Republic 25–34(%) 30
Czech Republic 35–44(%) 21
Czech Republic 45–54(%) 20
Czech Republic 55–64(%) 15
Portugal 25–64(%) 22
Portugal 25–34(%) 31
Portugal 35–44(%) 26
Portugal 45–54(%) 17
Portugal 55–64(%) 13
Saudi Arabia 25–64(%) 22
Saudi Arabia 25–34(%) 26
Saudi Arabia 35–44(%) 22
Saudi Arabia 45–54(%) 18
Saudi Arabia 55–64(%) 14
Chile 25–64(%) 21
Chile 25–34(%) 27
Chile 35–44(%) 24
Chile 45–54(%) 17
Chile 55–64(%) 14
Slovakia 25–64(%) 20
Slovakia 25–34(%) 30
Slovakia 35–44(%) 21
Slovakia 45–54(%) 15
Slovakia 55–64(%) 14
Mexico 25–64(%) 19
Mexico 25–34(%) 25
Mexico 35–44(%) 17
Mexico 45–54(%) 16
Mexico 55–64(%) 13
Costa Rica 25–64(%) 18
Costa Rica 25–34(%) 21
Costa Rica 35–44(%) 19
Costa Rica 45–54(%) 17
Costa Rica 55–64(%) 17
China 25–64(%) 17
China 25–34(%) 27
China 35–44(%) 15
China 45–54(%) 7
China 55–64(%) 2
Italy 25–64(%) 17
Italy 25–34(%) 24
Italy 35–44(%) 19
Italy 45–54(%) 13
Italy 55–64(%) 12
Turkey 25–64(%) 17
Turkey 25–34(%) 25
Turkey 35–44(%) 16
Turkey 45–54(%) 10
Turkey 55–64(%) 10
Brazil 25–64(%) 14
Brazil 25–34(%) 15
Brazil 35–44(%) 14
Brazil 45–54(%) 14
Brazil 55–64(%) 11
Indonesia 25–64(%) 8
Indonesia 25–34(%) 10
Indonesia 35–44(%) 9
Indonesia 45–54(%) 8
Indonesia 55–64(%) 4
South Africa 25–64(%) 7
South Africa 25–34(%) 5
South Africa 35–44(%) 7
South Africa 45–54(%) 8
South Africa 55–64(%) 7