There's no single "best" country for schools, as it depends on what you value (e.g., high test scores, innovation, flexibility, culture), but top contenders consistently include the United States, UK, Germany, Canada, Switzerland, Japan, and Singapore for overall system strength, while countries like South Korea excel in specific areas like test scores, and Finland is praised for its student-focused, less stressful approach. The US leads in higher education access and research, the UK offers strong traditional systems, and Asian nations like Japan and Singapore often top PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) scores.
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📚 The 10 Most Educated Countries in the World (2025) Based on tertiary education attainment among adults (ages 25–64) As of 2025, Canada leads the world in education, with 63% of its adult population holding a post-secondary qualification — the highest among OECD nations.
Australia ranks highly globally for education, particularly in higher education where its system is considered third strongest (after the US & UK), with many universities in top 100/50 subject rankings. For K-12, Australian students perform well in PISA tests, ranking in the top 10 for reading, science, and math in recent assessments, though system-wide proficiency varies, notes the ABC News. Overall, Australia is a top destination for international students and boasts a highly educated population, per the Australian Government DFAT and Secret Brisbane.
UC Berkeley and UCLA are the top two public universities in the country, with seven UC campuses in the top 25 and all nine undergraduate campuses in the top 45, according to the 2026 Best Colleges rankings, released today (Sept.
1. Japan
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Burkina Faso (38%), Niger (19%) and South Sudan (32%) are the countries with the lowest literacy (CIA World Factbook).
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South Korea: Students here spend entire days immersed in schoolwork, only to continue studying at private tutoring centres called 'Hagwons' late into the night. Japan: Japanese schools focus heavily on critical thinking, preparing students for demanding high school and university entrance tests.
Massachusetts. The Massachusetts school system is generally considered the best in the nation. It not only surpasses other states on nearly every metric for K-12 performance.
The University of Maine had the highest acceptance rate during the 2025 admissions cycle – 96.80%. Community colleges and online schools also tend to accept most of their applicants.
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The richest country by GDP (PPP) per capita is often cited as Singapore, followed closely by Luxembourg, depending on the specific report and year, with Singapore leading in 2025 estimates with around $156,000-$157,000 per person, while Luxembourg is a strong contender just below that, highlighting small, finance-heavy economies as wealthiest per person.
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Australia ranks highly globally for education, particularly in higher education where its system is considered third strongest (after the US & UK), with many universities in top 100/50 subject rankings. For K-12, Australian students perform well in PISA tests, ranking in the top 10 for reading, science, and math in recent assessments, though system-wide proficiency varies, notes the ABC News. Overall, Australia is a top destination for international students and boasts a highly educated population, per the Australian Government DFAT and Secret Brisbane.
Switzerland. Switzerland has been ranked as the best country in the world by US News for several years in a row. One of its highlights is its high-quality public education system. Compulsory, state-paid education lasts 11 years, with 95% of the population attending public schools.
What is the rank 1 school in Australia? The top-ranked school in Australia can vary, but academically, Sydney Grammar School in New South Wales is often at the top due to its outstanding results in both ATAR and IB exams.
The 2026 edition of the QS World University Rankings is once again topped by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with Imperial College London ranked in second place, above Stanford University and the University of Oxford.
Australia's "top 8 schools" generally refers to the Group of Eight (Go8), a coalition of leading research universities, including University of Melbourne, University of Sydney, UNSW Sydney, ANU, Monash, UQ, UWA, and Adelaide; however, rankings vary, with Times Higher Education (THE) often placing Melbourne, Sydney, Monash, and ANU at the very top in recent years, followed by UNSW, UQ, UWA, and Adelaide.