Every year, the World Economic Forum issues its Global Competitiveness Report to provide a well-researched set of rankings of all of the countries of the world. The annual international study provides holistic scores for each nation based on a host of factors related to education. These include, among others, educational attainment among the population, availability and access to schools, quality of schools, costs, and diversity.

There are four thematic dimensions by which each nation is ranked.

• Capacity measures to what extent a nation’s overall population has received varying levels of educational experiences.
• Deployment calculates the degree to which skills are accumulated and applied among the population.
• Development reports how much the education of a country’s population adapts and improves as the economy evolves.
• Know-how measures how wide and deep a nation’s overall set of skills is.

The holistic scores calculated based on these thematic dimensions provides a good way to generate overall rankings.

Here Are The Top 12 Most Educated Countries, Starting with #1 Below:

Norway

While not ranking first overall in any of the major thematic dimensions, this Scandinavian country is well balanced in many ways and has a booming economy.

Finland

Scandinavia stays strong with Finland ranked just behind the top spot, in part due to a first-overall ranking in development.

Switzerland

First in know-how and second in development, Switzerland’s high ranking means European nations fill out the top three spots.

The United States

The first non-European country on the list is also the largest one in the top-12 in terms of population. High scores for development and know-how cause the U.S. overall ranking to be quite high.

Denmark

Despite a 34th-overall ranking with respect to deployment, Denmark is reasonably well balanced.

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Germany

Like Denmark, Germany is also somewhat behind regarding deployment, but the largest European nation is also ranked seventh in know-how, accounting for its high overall ranking.

New Zealand

The only country on the list to hail from Oceania, New Zealand is very well developed.

Sweden

Ranked third in the know-how category, Sweden’s inclusion on the list further enhances Scandinavia’s reputation for being so well-educated.

Slovenia

Ranked high in terms of capacity and development, Slovenia might be considered by many to be a surprise inclusion in the top-12.

Austria

This additional European country is also famous for providing strong education, largely based on its high score for development.

Singapore

This tiny country is the only one from Asia to make the list, largely due to its fourth-overall ranking with respect to know-how.

Estonia. Perhaps another surprise inclusion, Estonia is extremely well-balanced in the factors that add up to its overall ranking.