Switzerland has been named ‘Europe’s smartest country’, according to a study undertaken by online tutoring school TutorSpace.
In compiling the study, TutorSpace compiled an index of 17 factors relating to intelligence and educational development, in four categories – education quality and access; higher education and research; literacy and digital literacy; and government investment.
From this, it gave each of the 44 European countries it assessed a score out of 100, ranking the countries from highest to lowest.
Switzerland leads the way
Switzerland takes the top spot with a total score of 81.1, consistently scoring above 75 in all four categories. It also attained the second-highest score in education quality and access, the study found.
The Swiss government allocates 14.24% of its expenditure to education, and 33% of 25–64-year-olds in Switzerland have some tertiary education, according to the study.
Denmark secures the second position with a score of 77.87, particularly excelling in literacy and digital literacy, as 98.87% of its population uses the internet. Denmark’s government devotes 11.94% of its expenditure to education.
Finland takes the third spot, achieving a score of 77.57 out of 100. The government spends approximately 10% on education, and Finns, on average, undergo 12.87 years of education. Finland also performs well in literacy and digital literacy, the study found.
Nordic countries in general performed well – Iceland (73.36) placed fourth, with Norway (72.84) rounding off the top five. The top ten can be found below.
Read more: What is the most popular country for EU graduates studying abroad?
Increase in educational budgets
Commenting on the findings, Patrick Nadler, CEO of TutorSpace and head of the German national tutoring association, said, “It is surprising that out of the largest countries in Europe, only Germany and the UK make an appearance on this list.
“The data highlights key areas where each country can improve but also shows where a country is already doing well. Technology and research are areas where many countries need to increase spending
in order to find ways to adapt to our changing world.”
Nadler also caused for an increase in educational budgets, adding that through the use of external tutors alongside state learning, “more people will be able to improve their situations and share their skills and knowledge”.
Data on the methodology can be found here.
Top 10 Smartest Countries In Europe
| Rank | Country | Index Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Switzerland | 81.1 |
| 2 | Denmark | 77.87 |
| 3 | Finland | 77.57 |
| 4 | Iceland | 73.36 |
| 5 | Norway | 72.84 |
| 6 | Sweden | 70.53 |
| 7 | Belgium | 69.12 |
| 8 | Netherlands | 68.97 |
| 9 | Estonia | 68.87 |
| 10 | United Kingdom | 67.83 |
Quality and accessibility to education
Elsewhere, a separate study, also carried out by TutorSpace, recently named Estonia as the leading European country in terms of the quality and accessibility of education.
The research used OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) scores to create an index covering 17 factors related to intelligence and development across 44 European countries. These factors were grouped into four main categories: education quality and access, higher education and research, literacy and digital literacy, and government investment.
Estonia topped the rankings with a score of 91.86 out of 100. On average, students in Estonia spend 13.55 years in education, and the government allocates 14.35% of its expenditure to the education sector.
Switzerland ranked second, scoring 84.92, with students spending an average of 13.86 years in school. Ireland came in third, with a score of 84.78 and the highest literacy rate among all countries in the study.
