10 Most Educated Countries in Asia

Published on February 22, 2017 at 4:56 am by Amber Hewitt in Lists

Education has a lot of value in today’s society, which is partially why we created this list of the most educated countries in Asia.

George Washington Carver once said that “education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom.” Education is extremely important as the world moves forward at a tremendous pace. To keep up with this high rate of progress, one must attain higher education. The rate of literacy isn’t necessarily the standard for defining a country’s level of education, so instead we’re going to take a look at the tertiary level of education to gauge the overall education. We’ll explain that in more detail in a bit.

Asia is the largest continent in the world, consisting of 48 countries and has more than half of the world’s population. That being said, the continent as a whole doesn’t have very many developed countries in comparison to the western world. However, most of the world’s oil is produced in Asia, so it’s a very important continent. That isn’t our topic today, though, as we’re mainly going to focus on education. Many Asian countries have made their intellectual mark. Countries like China and Japan are leading the world in industry and technology, in addition to Singapore, India, and Malaysia, which have also rapidly gained world attention in economic development. Education is much cheaper in Asia than in Europe or America, but it seems like a lot of people are still reluctant to get a higher education. You can check out the 14 Most Educated Countries in the World for contrast.

This list isn’t arbitrary by any means and we did a lot of digging online to put it together. Because literacy is a vague term, it can’t truly identify most educated countries in Asia. Therefore, we opted to look at the GER (Gross Enrollment Ratio) for the tertiary level of education. The GER essentially represents the total enrollment o students in a specific education level. If we take a look at the tertiary level of education’s GER percentage for both sexes, we can pretty accurately see how well educated a certain country is. Unfortunately, for most Asian countries we could only find data up to 2013; therefore, this is what we will base our rankings on. We found this data from World Bank, Unesco, and Knoema. Keep reading to learn about the most educated countries in Asia:

10. Cyprus:

GER percentage 47.5

This country is very keen about higher education. Its higher education system is shaped by the Bologna Process, which European countries use for their education system. Both public and private institutions provide higher level education in Cyprus at the university and non-university level. Cyprus’s government is trying its best to establish the country as a regional hub of higher education and research. Cyprus even allows foreign students the chance to study here; it’s working to build a robust education industry.

9. Kazakhstan:

GER percentage 50.1

Kazakhstan was a part of the former Soviet Union. After its independence, as a nation, Kazakhstan made a lot of progress. It is quite clear the country believes in higher education. In fact, up to secondary education is totally subsidized by the Kazakh government and it’s compulsory. However, tertiary level of education is a choice, and from our data, we can see that more than half of the eligible population of Kazakhstan is actually going for the tertiary level of education. It indicates that Kazakhstan will likely eventually grow into an economic power in Asia.

8. Thailand:

GER percentage 51.4

Thailand is already known worldwide for its beautiful beaches and monuments. The Thai constitution guarantees a bare minimum of 12 years of education for free and at least nine years of schooling is mandatory. This shows that Thai people are quite serious when it comes to education. Basically, a Thai citizen will receive education from pre-school to senior high school by the Ministry of Education. Like Kazakhstan, more than half the eligible population is enrolled in higher education in Thailand, which is a clear indicator that the country is well-educated.

7. Saudi Arabia:

GER percentage 54.9

Number 7 on our list of most educated countries in Asia is Saudi Arabia that is one of the wealthiest countries in the world. However, there is a controversy regarding the education system not being open for women. In fact, the GER percentage 54.9 for tertiary or higher education is shown here are for both sexes, which indicates women are now getting higher education in Saudi Arabia. In the past, the GER percentage for women may have been lower but things have changed for the better. Up to secondary level, education is provided by the government free of charge, but it is not compulsory. But, roughly 91% of the countries entire population go through the process according to Classbase.

6. Iran:

GER percentage 57.8

After the Islamic revolution of Iran, the country has progressed significantly. The country provides up to secondary education for free, but it’s not compulsory. After that students must pass a nationwide entrance exam to pursue a diploma, and then if they wish to continue, they can sit for a university entrance exam and study further. They can even pursue a doctorate degree if they so desire.

5. Mongolia:

GER percentage 62.2

Mongolia is generally regarded as an underdeveloped country compared to other countries in the region, but you have to understand that Mongolia is basically sandwiched between Russia and China, two of the most powerful countries in the world. That said, the HDI (Human Development Index) of Mongolia is rather low as well. However, that does not stop Mongolian from aspiring for a better future, as the GER percentage score clearly states. 62.2 percent of the eligible population is taking advantage of tertiary level education, which can only be good for the country as a whole.

4. Japan;

GER percentage 62.4

Japan, next ono ur list of most educated countries in Asia is possibly the most developed country in Asia. Japan is the definitely the technology hub of Asia, and possibly the world as well. Japan is extremely well known for its innovative and modern technology. Japan is also leading the world in robotics right now. It is only natural that Japan has made it into the top half of our list. Despite being the most developed country in Asia, Japan’s position is at number four. That tells us that there are many other things associated with a country’s development than just how well educated the country is, which is a point worth nothing.

3. Israel:

GER percentage 66.3

We are continuing our list of most educated countries in Asia with Israel that has a very complicated relationship with its neighboring countries. After its inception, Israel had to fight several wars. Sometimes it had to fight multiple neighboring countries by itself. However, that did not stop the country from developing its human resources. Israel is a small country with a very small population. Due to its restrictive foreign policies, Israel does not employ many foreign personnel. Israel is basically self-sufficient in its operation; therefore, it always emphasizes higher education of its citizens. This is why there is a very high tertiary level gross enrollment ratio.

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2. Turkey

GER percentage 88.8

So far the GER percentage was around 50%, but now we have a country where almost the entire population is interested in taking on tertiary level education. In fact, Turkey is not only one of the most educated countries in Asia, but in the world as well. The country is run by a rather conservative government, but it’s rather generous when it comes to higher education. It is also quite apparent that Turkish people have identified the necessity of higher education as well.

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1. Republic of Korea:

GER percentage 95.3

These figures are just jaw dropping. According to the Gross Enrollment Ratio, more than 95 out of 100 people who have completed secondary level of education is enrolled for a tertiary level academic degree. It’s no surprise that we couldn’t find any data regarding North Korea’s GER for any level of education. The Republic of Korea is the world leader when it comes to GER percentage in tertiary level education, that also means GER of primary and secondary.