Top 25 Countries With Highest Literacy Rates in The World in 2017

What are the top countries with the highest literacy rates in the world in 2017?

Education is one of the main factors in every society, as it affects its every level. If one country has a small number of educated people, it could also impact its economy, political situation and moreover, culture. How exactly does it function? With more educated people, there is a rise in a level of skillfulness and professionalism. Moreover, there is a bigger possibility for creativity and innovations, as well. It will impact country’s economy as more people will be employed, which will further have an influence on choosing better governance and understanding of the rule of law. In addition, mutual collaboration in one society will rise tolerance, which will then influence cultural level as well. It is also one of the crucial things for living in a more peaceful environment.

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” – Nelson Mendela

As we can see, education is essential for living and developing as a person, but it also represents a factor in a country’s development. By raising the level of education, it could positively affect the decrease of poverty, promotion of health and gender equality, among other things mentioned above. According to some of the key findings of Economic and Social Research Council, it is also associated with higher social trust and less hostility towards migrants.

The main organizations on the global level that are dealing with education and its promotion are United Nations, or more precisely UN Development Programs. It is a global development network that advocates prosperity in knowledge in order to connect it to experience and offers resources for better quality of life. The tools they use are assistance, training, and grants to countries in need. They are currently working with governments and communities in 177 countries! That’s why we consulted with UNDP’s statistics when compiling the list of most educated countries with the highest literacy rates in the world in 2017.

Nevertheless, OECD has also conducted a research of most educated countries by few indicators. In order to create our list of the countries with the highest literacy rates in the world in 2017, we chose one indicator: percentage of the population with tertiary education. Tertiary education is considered to be the highest level of education which includes both theoretical programs that could lead to advanced researches or some professions that require high skills. They have made measurements of the same age population for the year 2015. For the reference’s sake, the average percentage of the population with tertiary education is 42.1%. Moreover, for additional information we consulted The UNDP Human Development Report Office that releases annual report on each country’s development according to few indexes such as income, life expectancy, and education.

If you are really interested in this topic regarding top countries with the highest literacy rates in the world in 2017, don’t miss reading our article on the same topic from the year 2015 – The 14 Most Educated Countries in the World. Recently we also compiled the lists of 10 most educated countries in Africa and most educated countries in Asia. On the other side of the coin, we also put together the list of least educated countries in the world as well.

For your better understanding of the rest of the text here are some explanations of terms we’ll be using:  “Expected years of schooling” (EYS), represents number of years a child of school entrance age can expect to spend at a given level of education; “Mean years of schooling” (MYS) – an average number of completed years of education of a population of 25 years and older. The maximum for “Mean years of schooling” is 15, whereas the maximum for “Expected years of schooling” is 18, which is considered to be the achieving the master’s degree. The ranking on our list of the top countries with the highest literacy rates in the world in 2017 will go from the the smallest percentage of the population with tertiary education to the highest one. Let’s start.

25. New Zealand

Population with tertiary education: 39.1%

OECD’s research showed that the percentage of enrollment in the early childhood education was 91% of 3 to 4-year-old kids. Expected years of schooling are 19.2, whereas mean years of schooling are 12.5. Most of the schools in New Zealand are owned and funded by the state.

24. Latvia

Population with tertiary education: 39.9%

Adult literacy rate, age of 15 and older, in Latvia is 99.9%! Government expenditure on education is 4.9% of GDP. Moreover, expected years of schooling are 16, whereas mean years of schooling are approximately 11.7.

23. Greece

Population with tertiary education: 40.1%

There are many foreign universities in Greece, among which one of the most famous is American College in Thessaloniki. Expected years of schooling are 17.2 and mean years of schooling are 10.5. Percentage of primary school dropout is 9.3.

22. Iceland

Population with tertiary education: 40.1%

The education system in Iceland is divided in four levels, which is in common for all Nordic countries. Those are playschool, compulsory, upper secondary and higher. Mean years of schooling are 12.2 and expected years are 19. Their government is among the top ones that spend the most of the percentage of GDP on education, with 7%.

21. Estonia

Population with tertiary education: 40.5%

Percentage of primary school dropout is 3.4. Moreover, Estonian government spends around 4.7% of GDP on education and they also support many exchange programs. Nowadays, they call it ‘New Finland’ because its quality in this field is rising. Mean years of schooling are 12.5, whereas expected years of schooling are 16.5.

20. Finland

Population with tertiary education: 40.5%

In Finland, there are no tuition fees for schooling! They have a special strategy for achieving equality in education by making publicly funded comprehensive school systems and by putting pupils in the schools which are nearest to them, when it is possible. Finnish government spends 7.2% of GDP on education.

19. Slovenia

Population with tertiary education: 40.8%

Slovenia ranks 19th in our list of the top countries with the highest literacy rates in the world in 2017. Adult literacy rate in Slovenia from the age of 15 and above is 99.7%! Moreover, this ‘educated’ country’s government spends 5.7% of GDP in this field. One of the most known universities which is also attractive for student exchanges is the one in its main city, Ljubljana.

18. Spain

Population with tertiary education: 41.0%

Schooling in Spain is funded by state and it is mandatory between the ages of 6 to 16. The literacy rate in this country is very high with 98.1% for the age of 15 and older. Mean years of schooling are 9.8, and expected years are 17.7.

17. Belgium

Population with tertiary education: 43.1%

The mandatory school age in Belgium is 6 to 18 years, but some premature children can start going to school from the age of five. This country offers many international schools as well, and expenditure of government on education is 6.4% of GDP.

16. Poland

Population with tertiary education: 43.2%

Poland ranks 16th in our list of the top countries with the highest literacy rates in the world in 2017. Compulsory education in Poland starts at the age of six. Mean years of schooling are 11.9, whereas the expected years of schooling are 16.4. Adult literacy rate is among the highest one with 99.8%. It is one of the most educated countries in whole Europe.

15. Denmark

Population with tertiary education: 44.5%

One of the key priorities for this country is education, which you can see from the government expenditure of 8.5% of GDP in this field. Up to 15 or 16 years of age, school is compulsory and it is called Folkeskole, which in translation means ‘public school’. Primary school dropout percentage is very low – o.5.

14. Netherlands

Population with tertiary education: 45.1%

Expected years of schooling in the Netherlands are 18.1, and mean years are 11.9. This country is very much into educational programs and raising awareness of how important education is. Dutch government spends around 5.6% of GDP on it.

13. Israel

Population with tertiary education: 45.9%

In Israel, only 16% of students enrolled have failed the secondary education between the age of 25 and 64. 88.8%   of the population from the age of 25 and older is with at least some secondary education. The government of Israel spends 5.9% of GDP on education.

12. Sweden

Population with tertiary education: 46.4%

Sweden ranks 12th in our list of the top countries with the highest literacy rates in the world in 2017. It is well known that almost all Nordic countries have very good and regulated education systems. Mean years of schooling lasts up to 12.3, whereas expected years of schooling are 16.1. In addition, Swedish government spends 7.7% of GDP on education!

11. United States

Population with tertiary education: 46.5%

On the 11th place of the top countries with the highest literacy rates in the world in 2017 is the United States with 46.5% of the population with tertiary education. 89% of Americans have completed their secondary education between the age of 25 to 64, which is very good. Moreover, expected years of schooling are 16.5, and mean years are 13.2. The US government spends 5.2% of GDP on education.

10. Norway

Population with tertiary education: 48.1%

Gross enrolment ratio of primary school-age population in Norway is 100%! Moreover, Norwegians offer many additional educational programs and they tend to promote benefits of education as much as they can. The government spends around 7.4% of GDP on education.

9. Australia

Population with tertiary education: 48.5%

Australia ranks 9th in our list of the top countries with the highest literacy rates in the world in 2017. The expected years of schooling in Australia are 20.4, which is pretty high, and mean years are 13.2. The government expenditure on education is 5.3% of GDP.

8. Switzerland

Population with tertiary education: 48.6%

The education system in Switzerland is very diverse, because of the cantons which have their own authorities. However, in the constitution of Switzerland basic rules about schoolings are set, for example, primary school is obligatory. Expected years of schooling are 16, and mean years are 13.4.

7. United Kingdom

Population with tertiary education: 49.2%

In the UK, next, on the list of top countries with the highest literacy rates in the world in 2017, female students aged between 25 to 34 hold the record for the most educational women in the world! In addition, the country has one of the top faculties for economy and fashion. Additionally, London universities are known as high classed universities. The government of the UK spends 5.7% of GDP in this field.

6. Luxembourg

Population with tertiary education: 49.9%

Known as one of the most expensive countries, Luxembourg that ranks 6th on the list of top countries with the highest literacy rates in the world in 2017 offers good schooling system. Many of them are run by the state and in addition, free. The country has many international schools as well. Its government spends 5.5% of GDP on education.

5. Ireland

Population with tertiary education: 52.0%

Gross enrollment ratio of primary school-age population is 103%, whereas for secondary education is 126%. The literacy level of Ireland is also good, as most of the people know basic reading and have solid writing skills. The government of Ireland spends on education around 5.8% of GDP.

4. Lithuania

Population with tertiary education: 54.8%

Expected years of schooling in Lithuania are 16.5, whereas mean years are 12.7. Moreover, the government spends on education 4.8% of GDP. The current system of education dates from 1990 and it is free of charge and compulsory from the age of 6 or 7 until 16.

3. Canada

Population with tertiary education: 59.2%

In this list of top countries with the highest literacy rates in the world in 2017, Canada has pretty impressive references. The government expenditure on education is 5.3% of GDP. Next, expected years of schooling are 16.3 and mean years are 13.1. Gross enrollment ratio for secondary education is 110%.

2. Japan

Population with tertiary education: 59.6%

Japan ranks 2nd in our list of the top countries with the highest literacy rates in the world in 2017. When it comes to literacy level, the Japanese could be very proud as most of the Japanese can read and write. Primary school dropout is very low with 0.2% and percentage of GDP that is invested in education in this country is 3.8%.

1. The Republic of Korea

Population with tertiary education: 69.0%

Finally, on the top of our list of top countries with the highest literacy rates in the world in 2017 is, believe it or not, the Republic of Korea! Primary school dropout rate is really small with 0.4%. The ratio between pupils and teacher is around 17, which is a perfect environment for studying. The government expenditure on education is 4.6% of GDP.