Top 10 · education
Top 10 countries by college degrees
Share of adults 25+ holding a bachelor's degree or higher. World Bank / UNESCO data, each country's latest year, 2000–2024, covering 180 countries.
The top 10
1st of 180 · 2024
United Arab Emirates52.7 % of adults 25+
- 2ndIreland41.9 % of adults 25+
- 3rdLuxembourg41.9 % of adults 25+
- 4thSwitzerland41.6 % of adults 25+
- 5thLithuania41.3 % of adults 25+
- 6thRussia41.2 % of adults 25+
- 7thUnited Kingdom39.6 % of adults 25+
- 8thUnited States39.1 % of adults 25+
- 9thIsrael38.3 % of adults 25+
- 10thBelgium37.4 % of adults 25+
The other end · bottom 5 of 180
Where the big countries land
Common questions
Questions people ask about college degrees
Which country ranks highest for college degrees?
The United Arab Emirates ranks 1st of 180 countries at 52.7 % of adults 25+ (2024 data). Source: World Bank / UNESCO.
Which countries are in the top 10 for college degrees?
The top 10 are United Arab Emirates, Ireland, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Lithuania, Russia, United Kingdom, United States, Israel and Belgium — computed from World Bank / UNESCO data, each country's latest year, 2000–2024.
Where does the United States rank in college degrees?
The United States ranks 8th of 180 countries at 39.1 % of adults 25+ (2024 data). Source: World Bank / UNESCO.
What is the median college degrees worldwide?
Across the 180 countries covered, the median is 13.5 % of adults 25+. Values run from 52.7 % of adults 25+ (United Arab Emirates, ranked 1st) to 0.9 % of adults 25+ (Burundi, ranked 180th).
Is college degrees higher in Europe or the US?
The median across 42 European countries is 27 % of adults 25+, against 39.1 % of adults 25+ in the United States — it is higher in the US. Source: World Bank / UNESCO.
Which country ranks lowest for college degrees?
Burundi sits at the other end of the list: 0.9 % of adults 25+ ranks 180th of 180 (2017 data). Source: World Bank / UNESCO.
Keep ranking
Keep exploring
More on education
- Years in educationExpected years of schooling for a child entering school today.
- Pupil performanceStandardized test performance (PISA countries, NAEP states, linked scale).
- Adult literacyHow well working-age adults read and use written information.
- Adult numeracyHow well working-age adults handle numbers and mathematical ideas.
- Adults with weak literacyShare of adults at PIAAC literacy Level 1 or below — they can read short, simple texts but little more.
- Adults with weak numeracyShare of adults at PIAAC numeracy Level 1 or below — they manage single-step arithmetic but little more.
Who leads the world
- Monacotops life expectancy86.5 years
- Singaporetops homicide rate0.1 per 100k
- Bulgariatops paid maternity leave59 weeks
United Arab Emirates leads on college degrees — see where it lands on every other measure, and which US state it most resembles.
From the blog: How reliable is World Bank data? · Census, BEA, CDC, BLS: why US state data is unusually good
All 68 measures →Every country ranked →Every US state →All the Top 10s →The overall board →How we read the data →