OECD report indicates that Israel ranks second in percentage of population with post-secondary degrees.
By JPOST.COM STAFFgraduation students school university 311(photo credit: thinkstock)
Israel is among the world's most highly educated countries, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).The organization's 2011 edition of "Education at a Glance: OECD Indicators," highlights Israel for its high percentage of the population in possession of post-secondary degrees. With 45% of Israelis completing university degrees, Israel ranks ahead of countries such as Japan (44%), the US (41%), the UK (37%), only lagging behind Canada (50%).The statistic is especially significant considering Israel's relatively low GDP per capita, which at $27,690 ranks the 12th lowest out of all 34 OECD member states.The report also stated that Israel takes the OECD's top spot in population change between 2000 and 2009, rising 19% over that span to 7.4 million.Not everything was positive for Israel; the OECD report stated that the percentage of Israeli citizens obtaining post-secondary was slowing dramatically. In addition, Israel is one of only three countries where education expenditure as a proportion of GDP (43%) decreased.
