Once again Singapore excels when it comes to education – the country now tops the biggest global school rankings, published by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). In fact, Asian nations occupy the top five spots, while Finland is the best-performing country in Europe.
The ranking was compiled after an analysis of test scores in maths in science in 76 countries, which is more than OECD’s Pisa tests, which polled 65 countries in 2012. The results used in the analysis came from tests in various regions, both developed in developing countries. The findings, presented next week at the World Education Forum in South Korea, show that emerging economies and nations that rarely appear in similar rankings can overtake major economies such as the U.S., which comes at 28th place, well behind Vietnam (No.12) or Slovenia (No. 18). The United Kingdom is in the 20th spot, although traditionally its educational system is considered one of the best.
Here are the 20 top countries in the 2015 OECD education ranking:
- Singapore
- Hong Kong
- South Korea
- Japan (joint)
- Taiwan (joint)
- Finland
- Estonia
- Switzerland
- Netherlands
- Canada
- Poland
- Vietnam
- Germany
- Australia
- Ireland
- Belgium
- New Zealand
- Slovenia
- Austria
- United Kingdom
The United Arab Emirates comes at 45th place, the highest performance in the GCC, followed by Bahrain (No.57), Saudi Arabia (No.66), Qatar (No.68), and Oman (No.72). The five lowest-ranking nations, according to the OECD list, are Oman, Morocco, Honduras, South Africa and Ghana. These are also the countries where analysts see the biggest economic growth potential, where if children are enrolled in schools and achieve at least basic skills, the country will see a growth in its real GDP. The nations, where the largest GDP increase is estimated are Ghana, South Africa, Honduras, Morocco, Oman, Botswana, Macedonia, Peru, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
According to the OECD improving education not only in these nations, but also across the world, will result in long-term economic gains and will boost economic development.
