Irony Alert: Ireland Is The World’s Most Educated Country

A country’s prosperity is often linked to the education level of its working-age population.

Highly educated workforces tend to have higher productivity, more capability for innovation, and offer more support for economic growth.

This chart, via Visual Capitalist’s Niccolo Conte, shows the countries with the most educated populations, measured by both the number and share of adults aged 25–64 who have a bachelor’s degree or higher. The data comes from CBRE Research, using the latest available figures as of 2023.

Which Countries Have the Most Educated Populations?

Globally, countries are at different stages of expanding access to higher education. While developed nations have generally achieved high penetration rates, emerging economies are still catching up.

Here’s a look at the countries with the most educated populations, by both absolute number and share of population:

Western nations have the highest education rates, with Europe accounting for six of the top 10 countries by share of educated adults.

Ireland leads the list, with over half or 52% of its population aged 25–64 holding a university degree or more. Switzerland and Singapore follow closely behind, at 46% and 45%, respectively.

Meanwhile, the United States stands out with a high share (40%) of educated population and the third-highest number of educated people, at over 78 million.

India and China, the world’s two most populous countries, have the lowest proportion of educated people in the dataset. However, they have the highest volume of degree-holders among all other countries due to their population sizes.

Other emerging economies in South America, including Chile, Costa Rica, Brazil, and Colombia, have education attainment rates ranging between 19% and 23%.

Given the strong positive correlation between education levels and GDP per capita, improving access to higher education remains a priority for developing economies, where large parts of the workforce are uneducated.

To learn more about this topic, check out this infographic showing How U.S. Universities Make Money, on the Voronoi app.