U21 Ranking of National Higher Education Systems 2012

Ranking

The Universitas 21 Ranking of National Higher Education Systems started in 2012. A nation’s economic development depends crucially on the presence of an educated and skilled workforce and on technological improvements that raise productivity.  The higher education sector contributes to both these needs: it educates and trains; it undertakes pure and applied research.  Furthermore, in a globalised world, a quality higher education system that is well-connected internationally facilitates the introduction of new ideas, and fosters trade and other links with foreign countries, through the movement of students and researchers across national frontiers. 

Given the importance of higher education, a nation needs a comprehensive set of indicators in order to evaluate the quality and worth of its higher education system.  A good higher education system is well-resourced and operates in a favourable regulatory environment.  Domestic and international connectivity are also important.  The success of the system is measured by output variables such as research performance, participation rates and employment.  We use such indicators to derive a ranking of national higher education systems.  The measures are grouped under four main headings: Resources, Environment, Connectivity and Output and are constructed for 48 countries at various stages of development. 

The top ten countries, in rank order, are the United States, Sweden, Canada, Finland, Denmark, Switzerland, Norway, Australia, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. 

Full details of the methodology and results can be found in the report which can be downloaded below. The data from this year is also included within the rankings comparison table.


Full 2012 Report Data Comparison Tool