1. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
Education at a Glance 2007
Under embargo until
18 September :00 Paris time

2. The pool of workers with higher education qualifications has expanded markedly… …but at varying paces across countries…

3. Growth in higher education qualifications Approximated by the percentage of persons with ISCED 5A/6 qualification born in the age groups shown below (2005) % 5 7 27 1
A1.3a
Year of reference 2004.
Year of reference 2003.

4. …and today the US ranks only 18th in higher education graduation rates
…and today the US ranks only 18th in higher education graduation rates... …in part because the US has the highest college drop-out rate among OECD countries…

5. Higher education graduation rates (1995, 2000, 2005) Percentage of tertiary type A graduates to the population at the typical age of graduation %
Text has not been updated
A3.1

6. Number of higher education science graduates per employed 25-to-34-year-olds (2005) Tertiary-type A, tertiary-type B and advanced research programmes, by gender
A3.4

7. This is despite the fact that an above-average share of 15-year-olds reports to expect completing a college degree

8. Percentage of 15-year-olds expecting to complete higher education (2003)%
A4.1

9. Across OECD countries, the increasing supply of well-educated labor has been matched by the creation of high-paying jobs.

10. The effects of the expansion of higher education: A high calibre workforce or the overqualified crowding out the lesser qualified? Lower secondary unemployment rate as a ratio of upper secondary unemployment rate
In those countries that did not expand higher education (the bottom group), failure to complete high school is now associated with an 80% greater probability of being unemployed, compared to less than 50% in the top group.
“Middle group” The eight countries with modest increases in higher education (2.4% on average)
“Bottom group” The nine countries with no or very modest increases in higher education (0.1% on average) (includes US)
“Top group” The nine countries that expanded higher education fastest in the 1990s (5.9% on average)
A1.4

11. Changes in higher education and changes in unemployment for lower secondary educated adults: late 1990s and early 2000s Percentage point change within the periods
Countries in red had low or no growth in tertiary attainment but substantial growth in unemployment among the lower educated.
Note also: rising higher education qualifications seem generally not to have led to an “inflation” of the labour-market value of qualifications.
In all but three of the 20 countries with available data, the earnings benefit increased between 1997 and 2003, in Germany, Italy and Hungary by between 20% and 40%
Change in unemployment
Countries in green had the fastest growth in tertiary attainment and close to zero or negative growth in unemployment.
A1.5
Change in tertiary attainment levels between and

12. Student numbers have continued to rise… …but spending on higher education rose often even faster.

13. Index of change between 1995 and 2004 (1995=100, 2004 constant prices)
Changes in the number of higher education students as well as changes in expenditure on higher education institutions per student, by level of education (1995,2004)
Index of change between 1995 and 2004 (1995=100, 2004 constant prices)
B1.7b

14. The US spends more than twice as much per higher education than the European Union.

15. Expenditure on educational core services, R&D and ancillary services in higher education institutions as a percentage of GDP (2004)
% of GDP
Some levels of education are included with others.
Total expenditure at tertiary level including R&D expenditure
Year of reference 2005.
Total expenditure at tertiary level excluding R&D expenditure
B6.2

16. The US has the largest private share in higher education spending, and the highest level of tuition fees in public institutions… …but a large proportion of students benefit from subsidies in the form of loans, scholarships or grants.

17. Australia (82%), Japan (41%), Korea (51%)
Average annual tuition fees charged by public colleges and universities for full-time national students in US Dollars converted using PPPs (school year 2004/2005)
500
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
USD
United States (64%)
This chart does not take into account grants, subsidies or loans that partially or fully offset the students’ tuition fees.
Australia (82%), Japan (41%), Korea (51%)
Canada (m)
Israel1 (55%)
United Kingdom1 (52%)
New Zealand (79%), Netherlands1 (59%)
Italy (56%)
Austria (37%), Spain (43%),
Belgium (Fr. and Fl.) (33%)
Turkey (27%), France (m)
Czech Republic (41%), Denmark (57%), Finland (73%), Ireland (45%), Iceland (45%), Norway (76%), Poland (76%), Sweden (76%)
B5.1
1. Public institutions do not exist at this level of education and most of the students are enrolled in government dependent institutions.

18. Relationships between average tuition fees charged by public higher education institutions and proportion of students that benefit from public loans or/ and scholarships / grants (school year 2004/2005) For national full-time national students, in USD converted using PPPs
Average tuition fees charged by public institutions in USD
B5.3
% of students that benefit from public loans or/ and sholarships / grants
Public institutions do not exist at this level of education and all students are enrolled in government-dependent institutions.
Average tuition fees from 160 to 490 USD.

19. Many countries have moved close towards making high school completion universal…

20. Growth in baseline qualifications A world of change Approximated by percentage of persons with high school or equivalent qualfications in the age groups 55-64, 45-55, und years % 1 13 1 27
1. Excluding ISCED 3C short programmes 2. Year of reference 2004
3. Including some ISCED 3C short programmes 3. Year of reference 2003.

21. A comparison of high school graduation rates shows the US performing well below the average.

22. High school graduation rates (1995, 2005) Percentage of graduates to the population at the typical age of graduation (unduplicated count) %
Text has not been updated
A2.1

23. Resources in schools

24. Efficiency levels in primary and lower secondary education Potential for increasing learning outcomes at current levels of resources in primary and lower secondary education across OECD countries as a whole
According to this chart, across OECD countries, there is potential for increasing learning outcomes by 22% while maintaining current levels of resources (output efficiency). The scope for reducing the resources devoted to education while maintaining the current levels of outcomes is slightly larger, at 30% (input efficiency).
Rate of efficiency
B7.1

25. Average class size in primary education (2000, 2005)
The average class size in primary education is 22 students per class, but varies between countries from 33 in Korea to less than half that number in Luxembourg and the partner economy the Russian Federation. From 2000 to 2005, the average class size did not vary significantly, but the differences in class size between OECD countries seem to have diminished.
D2.1a
Public institutions only
Years of reference 2001 and 2005.

26. International comparisons of salaries provide simplified illustrations of the compensation received by teachers for their work. However, statutory salaries as reported in this indicator must be distinguished from the actual wage expenditures incurred by governments and from teachers’ average salaries, which are also influenced by other factors such as the age structure of the teaching force or the prevalence of part-time work.
Teachers’ salaries (minimum, after 15 years experience, and maximum) in lower secondary education Annual statutory teachers’ salaries in public institutions in lower secondary education, in equivalent USD converted using PPs, and the ratio of salary of 15 years of experience to GDP per capita
Equivalent USD converted using PPPs
D3.2

27. Number of teaching hours per year, by level of education (2005) Net contact time in hours per year in public institutions
Hours per year
In OECD countries, a primary school teacher teaches and average of 803 hours per year (2 less than the previous year), but this varies from less than 650 hours in Denmark, Japan and Turkey to 900 hours or more in France, Ireland, the Netherlands and New Zealand and over hours in the United States and in the partner economy Israel.
D4.2