Ranked: The Most Educated Countries in the World

Which Countries Have the Most Educated Adults?

A college education is now the norm for working-age adults in a growing number of wealthy countries, but the countries with the highest shares of graduates are not necessarily those with the largest numbers.

This graphic ranks 47 countries by the share of adults aged 25–64 with college or university qualifications, from two-year college diplomas to doctoral degrees. It also shows how many adults those shares represent.

The data comes from the OECD’s Education at a Glance 2026, covering 2025 or the latest available year (as early as 2023), combined with population estimates from the UN. China, which is not covered by the OECD data, uses 2020 census figures from the National Bureau of Statistics of China.

Canada Has the Highest Share of College-Educated Adults

Canada’s lead is partly explained by its extensive college sector, which offers qualifications beyond high school but below a bachelor’s degree.

Among Canadian adults, 25% have a two-year college diploma as their highest qualification, while 39% hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. Statistics Canada credits the country’s college sector and highly educated immigrant population for its leading position.

The table below shows the share and number of adults with college or university qualifications in each of the 47 countries:

Country	Adults With College or University Qualifications
	Share (%)	Number (Millions)
Canada	64	13.7
Ireland	59	1.6
Japan	58	35.1
South Korea	58	18.0
UK	55	19.6
Luxembourg	55	0.2
Australia	54	7.6
U.S.	52	93.0
Sweden	51	2.7
Israel	51	2.2
Norway	50	1.5
Lithuania	50	0.8
Belgium	47	2.9
Netherlands	46	4.4
Switzerland	46	2.3
Denmark	46	1.4
France	45	14.6
New Zealand	44	1.2
Iceland	44	0.1
Finland	43	1.2
Spain	42	11.2
Estonia	42	0.3
Latvia	41	0.4
Poland	40	8.4
Austria	38	1.9
Chile	37	4.1
Bulgaria	36	1.3
Germany	35	15.8
Greece	35	1.8
Slovenia	35	0.4
Portugal	33	1.8
Hungary	32	1.6
Croatia	31	0.6
Slovakia	30	0.9
Colombia	29	8.6
Czechia	29	1.6
Türkiye	28	13.3
Costa Rica	28	0.8
Argentina	23	5.4
Brazil	22	25.9
Mexico	22	14.8
Italy	22	7.0
Romania	19	2.0
China	18	152.4
India	16	119.2
Indonesia	13	19.0
South Africa	8	2.8
OECD Average	43	--

The U.S. ranks eighth at 52%, well above the OECD average of 43%. At the bachelor’s degree level or higher, the U.S. (41%) is slightly ahead of Canada (39%), meaning Canada’s overall advantage is driven by its much larger share of adults with shorter college qualifications.

China and India Have the Most College-Educated Adults

Population size reshuffles the ranking. China has the most adults with college or university qualifications at 152.4 million, based on its 2020 census, followed by India (119.2 million) and the U.S. (93.0 million).

Yet only 18% of working-age adults in China and 16% in India hold these qualifications, compared with 52% in the U.S.

Together, these three countries account for 56% of the 647.1 million college-educated adults across the 47 countries. Canada, despite leading by share, ranks 12th by total number at 13.7 million.

Richer Countries Tend to Have More College-Educated Adults

College attainment generally rises with national income. All nine countries in the ranking with GDP per capita below $35,000 have college attainment rates below 30%, based on World Bank data adjusted for purchasing power.

But wealth doesn’t tell the whole story.

Italy and the UK have nearly identical incomes per person, yet 55% of UK adults have college qualifications compared with just 22% in Italy. A third of Italian adults have not completed high school.

Germany (35%) and Austria (38%) also rank well below Japan (58%), despite having higher incomes per person. Both countries have strong apprenticeship systems that train skilled workers without requiring college degrees.

These examples show why college attainment alone doesn’t capture the full picture of a country’s education and workforce skills.

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