Index - Which countries have the best schools?

Have you ever wondered which country has the best schools in the world?

In the globally connected world, and with the indubitable link between education and economic prosperity, how a country’s schools perform relative to other nations matters. Measuring school performance is tricky, and we should never rely on any single set of metrics. Learning is more nuanced than that.

Our Index, which uses global data sets such as PISA, TIMSS and PIRLS together with individual country data such as literacy and graduation rates, is one interpretation of where school systems are working well, are where they need to improve. As well as an overall rank, the Index provides separate standings for cognitive skills and educational attainment.

The Index was first published in November 2012, and updated in January 2014.

How to use?

This is a cut-down view of the index ranking chart, to view all columns please use a screen of 980 pixels or wider (ipad landscape or desktop screens).

Country A to Z Overall Cognitive skills Educational Attainment
Flag for South KoreaSouth Korea Rank 11.30 Rank 21.35 Rank 11.19
Flag for JapanJapan Rank 21.03 Rank 41.20 Rank 60.70
Flag for SingaporeSingapore Rank 30.99 Rank 11.65 Rank 33-0.33*
Flag for Hong Kong-ChinaHong Kong-China Rank 40.96 Rank 31.34 Rank 180.20*
Flag for FinlandFinland Rank 50.92 Rank 50.99 Rank 40.79
Flag for United KingdomUnited Kingdom Rank 60.67 Rank 80.52 Rank 20.96
Flag for CanadaCanada Rank 70.60 Rank 60.77 Rank 150.25
Flag for NetherlandsNetherlands Rank 80.58 Rank 70.57 Rank 70.58
Flag for IrelandIreland Rank 90.51 Rank 100.49 Rank 100.55
Flag for PolandPoland Rank 100.50 Rank 160.33 Rank 30.85
Flag for DenmarkDenmark Rank 110.46 Rank 170.32 Rank 50.75
Flag for GermanyGermany Rank 120.41 Rank 120.48 Rank 140.28
Flag for RussiaRussia Rank 130.40 Rank 90.50 Rank 210.19*
Flag for United StatesUnited States Rank 140.39 Rank 110.49 Rank 200.19
Flag for AustraliaAustralia Rank 150.38 Rank 130.43 Rank 130.29
Flag for New ZealandNew Zealand Rank 160.35 Rank 210.23 Rank 80.57*
Flag for IsraelIsrael Rank 170.30 Rank 140.35 Rank 220.18*
Flag for BelgiumBelgium Rank 180.28 Rank 150.33 Rank 180.20*
Flag for Czech RepublicCzech Republic Rank 190.27 Rank 200.28 Rank 160.25
Flag for SwitzerlandSwitzerland Rank 200.25 Rank 230.20 Rank 120.35
Flag for NorwayNorway Rank 210.21 Rank 270.02 Rank 90.57
Flag for HungaryHungary Rank 220.17 Rank 190.28 Rank 24-0.04
Flag for FranceFrance Rank 230.17 Rank 180.29 Rank 26-0.07*
Flag for SwedenSweden Rank 240.17 Rank 250.15 Rank 170.22
Flag for ItalyItaly Rank 250.11 Rank 240.20 Rank 27-0.08
Flag for AustriaAustria Rank 260.10 Rank 220.22 Rank 29-0.13
Flag for SlovakiaSlovakia Rank 270.09 Rank 29-0.14 Rank 110.54
Flag for PortugalPortugal Rank 280.04 Rank 260.13 Rank 30-0.14
Flag for SpainSpain Rank 29-0.08 Rank 28-0.09 Rank 25-0.06
Flag for BulgariaBulgaria Rank 30-0.26 Rank 30-0.39 Rank 230.01*
Flag for RomaniaRomania Rank 31-0.44 Rank 31-0.62 Rank 28-0.08*
Flag for ChileChile Rank 32-0.79 Rank 34-1.06 Rank 32-0.26
Flag for GreeceGreece Rank 33-0.86 Rank 33-0.83 Rank 35-0.93
Flag for TurkeyTurkey Rank 34-0.94 Rank 32-0.68 Rank 38-1.46
Flag for ThailandThailand Rank 35-1.16 Rank 35-1.09 Rank 37-1.30*
Flag for ColombiaColombia Rank 36-1.25 Rank 36-1.56 Rank 34-0.64*
Flag for ArgentinaArgentina Rank 37-1.49 Rank 40-2.14 Rank 31-0.20*
Flag for BrazilBrazil Rank 38-1.73 Rank 39-2.06 Rank 36-1.08*
Flag for MexicoMexico Rank 39-1.76 Rank 38-1.78 Rank 39-1.73
Flag for IndonesiaIndonesia Rank 40-1.84 Rank 37-1.71 Rank 40-2.11

Z-score (number of standard deviations above or below the mean)

  • Less than -1.0
  • Between -1.0 and -0.5
  • Between -0.5 and 0.5
  • Between 0.5 and 1.0
  • More than 1.0

How is the Index calculated?

The overall index score is the weighted sum of the underlying two category scores. Likewise, the category scores are the weighted sum of the underlying indicator scores (see below for the default weights applied). Each indicator score is calculated on the basis of a z-score normalisation process. This process enables the comparison and aggregation of different data sets (on different scales), and the scoring of countries on the basis of their comparative performance.

What is a z-score?

A z-score indicates how many standard deviations an observation is above or below the mean. To compute the z-score, the EIU first calculated each indicator’s mean and standard deviation using the data for the countries in the Index, and then the distance of the observation from the mean in terms of standard deviations.

How are the categories and indicators weighted?

The overall index score is the weighted sum of the underlying two category scores. Likewise, the category scores are the weighted sum of the underlying indicator scores. The default weighting for the Index is two-thirds to cognitive skills and one-third to educational attainment. Within the cognitive skills category, the Grade 8 tests’ score accounts for 60% while the Grade 4 tests’ score accounts for 40% (Reading, Maths and Science all account for equal weights). Within the educational attainment category, the literacy rate and graduation rates account for equal weights.

When making comparisons of individual countries across Index versions it is important to focus on the ranking rather than the score. This is because the mean and standard deviation for each indicator are specific to each version of the Index and the sample of countries.

The data within the 2014 Index was collected and/or calculated in September 2014, while the data within the 2012 Index was collected and/or calculated in September 2012. For the full methodology for the 2014 Index please refer to the Appendix 2 in the latest report; for more details on the Learning Curve’s quantitative component, please refer to Appendix 1 in The Learning Curve 2012 Report.

Note: *Because of the variation in how countries measure graduation rates, the EIU followed the Advisory Panel's suggestion in using OECD graduation rate data, which uses one main definition. When OECD data was not available, national ministry or statistics bureau data was sanity-checked and then used if deemed comparable. In some cases, no data on upper secondary and/or tertiary graduation rates was available. In this case, the country was awarded the mean score for this indicator. One disadvantage of giving a country the mean score is that if in reality it performs worse than the average in this indicator, the Index boosts its score, and vice versa. Nevertheless, this was deemed the most transparent and fair method available. This also applies to one country for the literacy rate, where no internationally comparable data was found to be available.