Charted: The World’s Most Educated Countries

Niccolo Conte
2025-05-27 08:12:00
www.visualcapitalist.com

Charted: The World’s Most Educated Countries

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A country’s prosperity is often linked to the education level of its working-age population.

Highly educated workforces tend to have higher productivity, more capability for innovation, and offer more support for economic growth.

This chart shows the countries with the most educated populations, measured by both the number and share of adults aged 25–64 who have a bachelor’s degree or higher. The data comes from CBRE Research, using the latest available figures as of 2023.

Which Countries Have the Most Educated Populations?

Globally, countries are at different stages of expanding access to higher education. While developed nations have generally achieved high penetration rates, emerging economies are still catching up.

Here’s a look at the countries with the most educated populations, by both absolute number and share of population:

Country	Population Age 25–64 with Bachelor’s Degree or Higher	Share of Population with Bachelor’s Degree or Higher	Region
Ireland	1.8M	52.4%	Europe
Switzerland	2.7M	46.0%	Europe
Singapore	1.9M	45.0%	Asia
Belgium	3.3M	44.1%	Europe
United Kingdom	19.1M	43.6%	Europe
Netherlands	4.8M	42.0%	Europe
United States	78.2M	40.3%	North America
Australia	6.9M	39.8%	Oceania
Israel	2.2M	39.7%	Middle East
Sweden	2.6M	39.6%	Europe
South Korea	14.4M	39.4%	Asia
Taiwan	2.0M	38.9%	Asia
Poland	9.0M	37.9%	Europe
Denmark	1.4M	37.7%	Europe
Canada	14.8M	36.9%	North America
Norway	1.3M	36.9%	Europe
Finland	1.2M	35.6%	Europe
Japan	25.4M	34.8%	Asia
Hong Kong SAR	1.3M	34.8%	Asia
Germany	17.7M	32.9%	Europe
Philippines	22.4M	29.5%	Asia
Portugal	2.0M	29.4%	Europe
Spain	9.2M	28.8%	Europe
Hungary	1.8M	28.5%	Europe
France	0.8M	28.1%	Europe
Czechia	1.9M	26.9%	Europe
Argentina	7.1M	23.7%	South America
Chile	3.1M	22.9%	South America
Brazil	31.6M	21.5%	South America
Italy	8.0M	21.5%	Europe
Mexico	17.8M	20.4%	North America
Colombia	6.9M	18.9%	South America
Costa Rica	0.7M	18.9%	North America
Romania	2.3M	18.6%	Europe
India	139.4M	14.2%	Asia
Mainland China	88.1M	6.9%	Asia

Western nations have the highest education rates, with Europe accounting for six of the top 10 countries by share of educated adults.

Ireland leads the list, with over half or 52% of its population aged 25–64 holding a university degree or more. Switzerland and Singapore follow closely behind, at 46% and 45%, respectively.

Meanwhile, the United States stands out with a high share (40%) of educated population and the third-highest number of educated people, at over 78 million.

India and China, the world’s two most populous countries, have the lowest proportion of educated people in the dataset. However, they have the highest volume of degree-holders among all other countries due to their population sizes.

Other emerging economies in South America, including Chile, Costa Rica, Brazil, and Colombia, have education attainment rates ranging between 19% and 23%.

Given the strong positive correlation between education levels and GDP per capita, improving access to higher education remains a priority for developing economies, where large parts of the workforce are uneducated.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

To learn more about this topic, check out this infographic showing How U.S. Universities Make Money, on the Voronoi app.

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