Swiss education system judged best in the world

The Swiss education system is hitting all the right notes Keystone

Switzerland has the best education system in the world, according to the Swiss-based World Economic Forum (WEF) in its Human Capital Report 2016. Switzerland remains third overall, behind Finland and Norway. 

The fourth edition of the annual reportExternal link, published on Tuesday, said Switzerland “benefits from the very high quality of its primary schools and of the education system as a whole … but also from a strong rate of vocational training and high level of skill diversity”. 

Switzerland was also rated the best-performing country for staff training, third best for economic complexity and third best for high-skilled employment. 

According to the WEF, “the Human Capital Index quantifies how 130 countries are developing and deploying their human capital, and tracks progress over time. It takes a life-course approach to human capital, evaluating the levels of education, skills and employment available to people in five distinct age groups”. 

The top three remains unchanged from last year, with Norway and Switzerland almost drawing level this year and gaining ground on Finland. All three countries were effectively developing and utilising about 85% of their full human capital potential, the report noted. 

There is room for improvement, however, for the Swiss when it comes to employment for over-65s. Here, Switzerland was in 85^th place, although that could be because the high level of prosperity means older people are not forced to work. 

The list is propped up by African countries, with Mauritania in 130^th and last position.