The UK is the best country in the world for education, says study

28 Jan 2019

The UK has scooped the first spot in The 2019 Best Countries for Education, maintaining its rank from last year, according to a study by US News & World Report.

The UK also ranks #5 in the 2019 Best Countries Rankings, down one spot from last year.

A total of 80 countries are featured in the report.

The report noted that: “The 2019 Best Countries for Education are ranked based on a perception-based global survey, which used a compilation of scores from three equally weighted country attributes: well-developed public education system, would consider attending university there and provides top quality education.”

The United Kingdom is No. 1 on the list of #BestCountries for Education and ranks in the top five on multiple other rankings. https://t.co/dekXQBQYC7 pic.twitter.com/MOS2jS8H9m

— U.S. News (@usnews) January 23, 2019

The list is a mix of federall- run and decentralised education systems.

The study was done in partnership with BAV Group, a unit of global marketing communications company VMLY&R, and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

According to the report, “Disparities between secondary modern schools designed for trade professionals and grammar schools for [the study of the classics led to the creation of more uniform comprehensive schools, though administration of the programs has differed in each county.

“Students had average math, science and reading scores on the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment. The UK is home to two of the top 10 Best Global Universities.”

The US comes in second place, followed by Canada, Germany and France.

Best Countries for Education 2019

Country	2019 Ranking	2018 Ranking
UK	1	1
US	2	2
Canada	3	3
Germany	4	4
France	5	5
Australia	6	6
Switzerland	7	7
Sweden	8	9
Japan	9	8
Netherlands	10	11

Source: US News & World Report

The report noted that in the US, the public education system is primarily funded through federal and state property taxes, while the country is home to eight of the top 10 Best Global Universities.

In Canada, the authors noted that “Canadian students score above average on the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment. Quebec requires students to complete two years at a specialised professional school before attending university, but otherwise, standards are generally comparable.”