Education is one of the most important things in the world. Without it our youth would have no guidance in a very difficult world. However, education systems are not universal and unfortunately some are better than the others. Here are some of the best educational systems in the world.

South Korea

2015 has seen the rise of South Korea as the number one educational system in the world. It managed to bump its way from the second best to the best system, all in the span of three years. Korea does this for two reasons. First, they believe in working hard. Kids spend seven days of the week in school and are educated thoroughly in everything they study. Secondly, South Korea spends a lot of money on its educational system. The yearly budget for the system is slightly more than 11 billion dollars. The other Asian countries are major competition for South Korea.

A noticeable statistic about the South Korean educational system is the country is near 100% literate. 99.2% of males in South Korea are literate while 96.6% of females are literate.

Japan

Japan has slid into the number two position. A combination of a hard work ethic and technology play a major role in making the Japanese educational system what it is. No other country deploys technology in education to the extent that Japan does. Kids have access to resources that most other students do not, giving them the ability to get answers to some of the most difficult questions.

Another focus of the Japanese educational system is extracurricular activities. Sports, chess, and other such clubs have been proven to increase the educational value of a school system. In Japan almost all students participate in at least one club, it is expected of them.

Singapore

Singapore makes number three on the list of educational systems in 2015. Singapore has one of the best primary education systems in the world. The primary education system is credited for allow Singapore to jump ahead two places on the list of best educational systems. What is most impressive about Singapore’s educational system is that they built it from scratch.

Another amazing thing that Singapore does is they shift the focus away from the traditional school tasks of rote memorization and repetition and instead focus on deeper education. Conceptual learning and problem-based education play a major part in their educational system. They want students to solve problems on their own with a teacher there to help, should they get lost in the process.

Hong Kong

Next up is Hong Kong; they take a large amount of their education system from the United Kingdom. The educational system is seen over by the Social Welfare Department of the government. Each level of schooling in Hong Kong works together to create an overall educational experience.

The literacy rate in Hong Kong is 94.6, still a pretty high number.

Finland

Finland is an interesting member of this list. For a long time it led educational systems around the world on this list. In 2015 though it got bumped to number five on the list, being replaced by Asian countries. Its drop may be due in part to the increased attention put on school systems by the countries that ousted it.

Unlike many countries, Finland has short school days and fills the rest of the day with school-sponsored educational activities. They believe that there is a good portion of learning to be done outside the classroom. The schools in Finland build the community and help to create identity among the citizens.

The teachers in Finland also go through some of the best education in the world.

While literacy rates may be one method to show the success of an educational system they do not predict the overall value of the system. For example, the United States, which has a 99.99% literacy rate, comes in number 14. More goes into determining what entails a good educational system. For example, one critical area the United States educational system lacks in is real life education.

Having a good education is key in life. Not only does it set you up for success in terms of a career but it also determines how you are perceived socially. A good education allows you to fit in with the higher educated crowds. With how key education is to our success as a world shouldn’t there be a large focus globally on our education?

Maths and Science Ranking

A 2015 study by the OECD ranked the Educational Systems by the results of kids aged 15 at Maths and Science. The ranking is very similar to the general ranking, with top tier Asian countries leading the list:

Countries ranked on maths and science results for 15 year olds:
1. Singapore	21. Czech Republic	41. Turkey	61. Jordan
2. Hong Kong	22. Denmark	42. Serbia	62. Argentina
3. South Korea	23. France	43. Bulgaria	63. Albania
4. Japan	24. Latvia	44. Romania	64. Tunisia
5. Taiwan	25. Norway	45. UAE	65. Macedonia
6. Finland	26. Luxembourg	46. Cyprus	66. Saudi Arabia
7. Estonia	27. Spain	47. Thailand	67. Colombia
8. Switzerland	28. Italy	48. Chile	68. Qatar
9. Netherlands	29. United States	49. Kazakhstan	69. Indonesia
10. Canada	30. Portugal	50. Armenia	70. Botswana
11. Poland	31. Lithuania	51. Iran	71. Peru
12. Vietnam	32. Hungary	52. Malaysia	72. Oman
13. Germany	33. Iceland	53. Costa Rica	73. Morocco
14. Australia	34. Russia	54. Mexico	74. Honduras
15. Ireland	35. Sweden	55. Uruguay	75. South Africa
16. Belgium	36. Croatia	56. Montenegro	76. Ghana
17. New Zealand	37. Slovak Republic	57. Bahrain
18. Slovenia	38. Ukraine	58. Lebanon
19. Austria	39. Israel	59. Georgia
20. United Kingdom	40. Greece	60. Brazil

Note: Countries not present in the above ranking did not participate in the study.