Which Country Has the Best Higher Education System?

The youth of today will be taking over the world of tomorrow, thus it is essential to provide them with the best of the best. Many nations have looked upon this thought carefully and opened the doors of education for students of all nationalities as a result. The percentage of study abroad students has increased rapidly in the past decade. All the countries have upgraded their higher education system to attract more and more study abroad students.

Higher education is an essential part of a students life, it helps them in formulating their career and achieve goals. As the future of next-generation depends on the knowledge and skills given to the students now, it is obligatory to design the education system closely. All the countries of the world have tried to formulate the best possible education system in their understanding for the betterment of students.

The education system of a country can be evaluated by the strength of their system, the percentage of finances invested by the country in the education sector, the number of recognised universities or educational institutions present in the country and availability of seats for study abroad students. Based on these conditions, some prestigious organisations have conducted research on the education system of numerous countries and formulated a list of top countries for study abroad aspirants. Check out the list and see which one suits you the best!

*According to Ceoworld Magazine, with scores graded on a 100-point scale.

1. United States

The United States is one of the leading centres of education that acts as a magnet for all the study abroad students and the best ones actually get the chance of pursuing their education at US universities. According to reports, 1.10 million international students were studying in the USA in 2019 out of which 77% were from Asia. With a large percentage of Indian students having their eye on US universities, it is definitely a dream destination of education for all study abroad students. Popular US states for education are New York, Columbia, Texas, Boston and California.

The popular courses among the study abroad students are Masters in Business Administration, Engineering, Accounting, Data Analytics and all STEM programmes. Students get multitudinous employment opportunities in the USA just after completing their course. Advanced pedagogy methods, high-tech labs, learned professors and engaging curricula enhance the personality of the student in all possible ways. Students get flexible study hours and the opportunity to select their majors and minors. Dual degree options are also provided to students pursuing bachelor courses.

The US government invests 16268 USD in a student every year due to the comprehensive investments in the public and research universities, the output of research is first class. Even private universities of the US receive heavy investments from well-established and successful organisations. There are 4,298 educational institutes in the US for higher education which are divided into - Public universities, Private Universities and Community Colleges, out of which about 150 are ranked as top universities by QS. Some of the top-ranked universities in the US include the University of Illinois, Chicago; Auburn University; Florida International University; University of Dayton, Ohio; Stanford University; and Harvard University.

2. United Kingdom

The second most popular study abroad destination among Indian students in the UK. It has some of the oldest universities in the world which provide the best education to the students. Currently, approximately 4,85,645 international students are pursuing their education from the UK. According to research and estimations, 37,500 Indian students went to the UK to pursue their higher education in 2019. The main education cities of the UK include London, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Liverpool, Glasgow and Manchester. Every city of the UK has a definite culture, tradition and place in history.

The common stream choices of most Indian study abroad students are Law, Natural Sciences, Liberal Arts, Journalism, Medicine and Business. Innovate programmes like sandwich courses are provided by UK universities that allow a student to get a Bachelors's and a Master's degree in 4 years duration. Some popular universities offering these courses to international students are - Manchester Metropolitan University; University of Wolverhampton; Aston University; Birkbeck University of London, Bournemouth University; City, University of London; Coventry University; and many more. Other unique courses offered by the universities are pop up which allow students to enhance their skills or brush up their knowledge in less time. There are multiple scholarships for Indian students studying in the UK, almost all graduate international students get a scholarship or fellowship.

The UK government invested 92.3 GBP in the education sector in 2019-2020 out of which 4.3 GBP were invested in the tertiary level of education. There are about 100 Universities in the UK out of which 84 are ranked in the QS list of top Universities. Of these 84 universities, four claim positions in the top 10 and 15+ are in the top 100 universities of the world.

3. Australia

Australia is a country with a maximum number of young universities that offer courses to international students. It has become a favourite education destination for international students as more than 8 lakh students enrolled themselves in Australian universities in 2019. Close to a lakh, Indian students took admitted to Australian countries in 2018 which was 12% of the overall study-abroad Indian students. Some famous educational cities of Australia are Melbourne, Adelaide, Queensland, Brisbane, Sydney, Perth and Canberra.

Most Indian students opt for Engineering, Business, Psychology, Law and Medical courses while applying to Australian Universities. A student can either take up a course in a university or at a vocational centre according to their interest and career goals. The cost of education is quite low in comparison to other study-abroad destinations, this is one of the reasons for the recent increase in the number of study-abroad students moving to Australia.

The education budget of Australia is 20.9 billion Australian Dollars which includes the primary, secondary and tertiary sector funds. The Universities of Australia have maintained the standards of Education to attract international students. There are 45 well-known Universities in Australia out of which 40 are public universities, but the centre of attraction is the Group of Eight (Go8) universities. Go8 is an association of the largest, oldest and best education institutes of Australia which include - University of New South Wales, University of Western Australia, University of Queensland, University of Melbourne, Monash University, Australian National UniversityandUniversity of Sydney.

4. Germany

Germany is a hotspot for STEM courses among international students. The percentage of Indian students moving to Germany for higher education has gone up by 18.44% between 2018 and 2019 which accounted for a total of 20, 810 students. The country is famous for contributing the maximum number of Nobel prize winners to the world including Albert Einstein and Walter Benjamin. Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Frankfurt, Dresden, Stuttgart and Nuremberg are some famous educational cities of Germany.

Not only do Indian students prefer going to Germany for higher education but students of other nationalities also choose the country as the ultimate research destination. There is no tuition fee for higher education in German universities and the cost of living is considerably affordable. The majority of postgraduate students either receive a scholarship or assistantship, government grants like DAAD, and more. Popular course choices of people include liberal arts, research-based STEM programmes and medicine.

According to reports, the German government invested 128.8 billion Euros in the year 2017 and the amount is increasing each year. Public universities are profoundly funded by the government thus most of the international students prefer applying to these universities. There are about 110 Universities in Germany out of which 13 are ranked in the world's top 250 universities and 30 in the top 500 universities of the world. Leipzig University, University of Jena, University of Halle-Wittenberg, University of Munich, University of Greifswald, Arden University, University of Law, and University of Rostock are some of the highest-rated universities in Germany.

5. Canada

Canada is a country of immigrants and multiple cultures. It is also one of the most preferred study-abroad destinations for international students. According to records, more than 6 lakh international students went to Canada in 2019 including about 1.39 lakh Indian students. Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver are some of the leading education cities in Canada.

With #1 as the best residential country according to the UN, Canada is considered a beautiful and safe country with the greatest standards of life. The universities maintain proper work-study balance in the life of a student and it is much easier for the student to get a work visa in Canada than in other countries. The education system of Canada is similar to that of the US, where a bachelor's degree is 4 years long and a Master's degree can be 1-2 years long. The popular course choices of Canadian students are Social Science, Applied science and management courses.

The Canadian government invests heavily in the education sector, 5.4% of the total GDP is invested in the education sector mainly in the tertiary sector and approximately 20000 USD is invested in every student. Community colleges are also heavily backed by government funds with tuition fees very low in comparison to universities. Some of the popular universities in Canada include Queen's University, University of Toronto, McGill University, University of British Columbia, University of Alberta, McMaster University and the University of Waterloo.

6. France

France is an upcoming education destination for Indian students, in the last academic there was a rise of 54% in the number of Indian students pursuing higher education from France, approximately 8000 Indian students went to France last year for higher education. The top French cities for Education are Paris, Lyon, Bordeaux, Marseille, Lille, Nice, Montpellier, Rennes, Grenoble and Toulouse.

French is widely spoken in France and most of the programmes are taught in French, international students usually know the language before applying at French universities even though some of the programmes are taught in English. The quality of education is outstanding in French universities and students get outstanding research & development opportunities while studying in France. ECTS credit system is followed by universities to evaluate the degrees which can easily be converted or transferred to any other credit system. The common course choices of international students are Literature, languages, Management, Business, Fashion and Art.

The government of France invested 72760 million Euros in the education sector this year and a major portion of it is further invested in higher education institutions. There are 100 universities in France and 30 are included in the QS world ranking 2021 of top universities, some of which are - Paris Sciences et Lettres Research University, Sorbonne University, Cole Normale Suprieure de Lyon, Sciences Po Paris, Telecom ParisTech and Ecole Polytechnique (ParisTech).

7. Netherlands

The Netherlands is a beautiful country with high living and education standards and the cost of education is not as high as in the UK, US or Canada. This is why many international students with plan to study abroad go to the Netherlands for higher education. There is no compromise in the career options or the educational curriculum while studying in the Netherlands. Currently, there are 800 Indian students studying bachelor's, master's and doctoral level courses from the Netherlands.

The influx of international students is also increasing in the Netherlands because of the programmes being offered in the English language, the teaching facility and the government of the Netherlands had made sure that International students don't face any issues in pursuing education. There are four types of Universities in the Netherlands, which include research universities, institutions for international education, university colleges and university of applied sciences.

Students below the age of 30, pursuing a master's or a doctoral programme for the Netherlands receive a grant or fellowship from the university in order to complete their education comfortably. The government invested 42 billion USD in the education sector in the last budget and most of the money is utilised in research projects. There are in total 48 Universities in the Netherlands where international students can apply for higher education.

8. China

China has become a centre of education for study-abroad students interested in pursuing medicine and Engineering. According to records, the number of international students currently studying in the Asian region, especially China, is more than in the European region. The main reason for this paradigm shift is the reforms brought by the Chinese government in their education system to increase the influx of study-abroad students in their territory. There are about 18,171 Indian students studying in China at present. Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Chongqing, Xi'an, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Guilin, Shenzhen, and Nanjing are the most popular for education in China.

All education-related matters in China are handled by the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, which takes regular steps to improvise the higher education system of China. According to reports, China has planned to overtake the position of the United Kingdom in the Education sector in the upcoming years. Bachelor, Master, Doctoral and Certificate courses are offered to international students in Chinese universities at an affordable tuition rate with a generous amount of scholarships for all deserving candidates.

The government of China invested around 426.69 USD in its education budget in 2019 to improve the quality of education. There are more than 2900 Universities in China which can admit more than 20 million students at once, many of which have secured a position in the QS top 50 University ranking. The popular Universities of China include Tsinghua University, the University of Hong Kong, Peking University, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

9. South Korea

South Korea is a beautiful country with an outstanding education and development setup, the percentage of international students entering the country for higher education has increased by 18.8% in recent years, the main reason being the rich quality of life and education. South Korea has always been a country with a high human development index, study abroad students opt for this country because of the limitless development opportunities. Seoul, Daegu, Chuncheon, Cheonan and Gyeongsan are the important educational centres of South Korea.

The focus of South Korean Universities is to deliver the best quality of education to both local and international students in the fields of Science, Arts and Business at a very affordable cost. An international student pursuing a course from South Korea may spend around 6500 USD in a year on the tuition fee along with concessions in accommodation and transport facilities. Deserving international students get grants from the government and universities to complete their education comfortably. The popular course choices of Indian students are - Engineering, Applied Sciences and Business. The high-income economy of South Korea helps passing out students in getting good jobs in their respective fields.

According to the GDP data of the country, 5.3 parts of their GDP was invested in the Education sector for the upliftment of the quality of education quality. There are approximately 220 universities in South Korea which include 43 national and 180 private Universities. National Universities are closely monitored by the Government. Some of the popular universities of South Korea are- Seoul National University, Sungkyunkwan University, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Korea University, Yonsei University and Hanyang University.

10. Japan

Japan is magnificent to study in the country of bullet trains and instant noodles, full of excitement, challenges and adventures for international students. The government of Japan has planned to attract more than 3 lakh study abroad students in the coming years by introducing programmes taught in English, appointing translators at universities for the ease of international students and providing scholarships to international students. Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Fukuoka, Hiroshima, Yokohama and Sapporo are some of the famous cities for higher education in Japan.

The Higher Education system of Japan comprises university education, graduation is a 4-year-long programme and the students get many scholarships in the duration. The key feature of education in Japan is the low tuition fee for all the courses with no compromise in teaching methodologies and research or practical equipment. Japan is a country of a rich cultural heritage, the people of Japan are motivating, hardworking and peaceful.

The popular courses among study abroad students are Medicine, Healthcare, Engineering and Applied Sciences. Most of the international students studying in Japan know the language beforehand, or learn it later, as it helps them in understanding the course better.

In the year 2016, the government of Japan spent 3.5% of its GDP on the education sector to uplift the quality of education for both national and international students. There are about 86 national universities in Japan that are well funded by the government and about 597 private colleges in Japan, the course fee for these universities is comparatively higher. Some of the famous Japanese Universities are - Osaka University, Kyoto University and the University of Tokyo.

This was the list of top 10 countries considered best to pursue higher education, due to their educational facilities, safety measurements and living standards. But there are certain countries that are affordable and best in a particular field like to pursue medicine programmes countries like - Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan and China are popular among Indian students. The best country for an individual depends upon the course he/she plans to pursue and the amount of money one has to spend on education.

In case you have any doubts about countries with the best higher education system, please reach out to us at abroad@collegedekho.com.Our team will also guide you through your admission to leading foreign universities.