Education at a Glance 2015

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) released its Education at a Glance 2015 report on 24 November 2015. This report shows New Zealand continues to deliver a top-performing education system.

The yearly report compares education in 34 OECD and other participating partner countries, using data from the last three years.

According to the report, New Zealand:

• allocated 18% of its total public expenditure to education, one of the highest proportions of any OECD country
• invested more than 7% of its GDP in education – one of the highest levels in the OECD
• is in the top third of countries where more than 95% of 4-year-olds participated in early childhood education (ECE), well above the OECD average of 85%
• is also in the top third of countries for combined public and private expenditure per child in ECE
• has one of the lowest teacher to children ratios in ECE at one teacher to eight children (aged 3 or 4), with the OECD average at 14 children per teacher
• has one of the fastest improving rates of 15 to 19-year-olds staying on in education, up from 77% in 2008 to 83% in 2013
• has one of the highest proportions of adults with a Level 4 qualification or higher, with 52% of 25 to 64-year-olds holding these credentials compared to the OECD average of 41%
• has one of the largest proportions of international students in its tertiary student body.

The full report is on the OECD website(external link)

Go to the summary of the New Zealand results on Education Counts website: http://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/publications/series/education-at-a-glance(external link)