The World’s Most Educated Countries

The New Diplomat
Writer

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What We’re Showing

This infographic shows countries with the highest share and number of people aged 25–64 who have a bachelor’s degree or higher, highlighting the most educated populations.

The data comes from a report by CBRE Research.

Key Takeaways

  • Ireland ranks highest by education rate, with 52.4% of its working-age population holding a bachelor’s degree or higher.
  • Switzerland, Singapore, and Belgium follow closely, all exceeding 44% in education rates.
  • India has the highest absolute number of educated individuals at 139.4 million, despite a low share of 14.2%.
  • The U.S. is one of the most educated countries in both percentage and absolute number terms.
  • China has the second-highest number of educated adults at 88.1 million, but the lowest percentage in the dataset (6.9%).
  • Europe dominates the list in terms of education rate, with more than half of the top 20 countries located in the region.

Dataset

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
Credit: Visual Capitalist

 

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