Report issued by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD ) noted that Israel has one of the highest-educated populations of any country in the developed world.
The report “Education at a Glance 2015″ found that 85% of Israelis aged 25 – 64 have completed upper secondary education, compared with the OECD average of 76%. Some 49% of Israelis in that age group went on to tertiary education (universities or colleges), compared with the OECD average of 34% – the second-highest rate of any OECD country. Israel also had a low high school dropout rate of 14.6%, compared with the OECD average of 24.7%.
The report said Israel was one of only a handful of countries to increase its investment in education even during the global financial crisis, devoting 6.5% of its GDP to its education system. Israel ranks among the biggest spenders on education. Israel spent some 6% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2012 on education, just edging out the OECD average of 5.2%.
Yet, counter intuitively, Israeli students spend less on education than other OECD member nations. Israel spent a mere $6,931 per student on primary education in 2012, while other OECD member nations spent a combined average of $8,247.
When it came to secondary education, Israel spent $5,689 per student, compared to the OECD average of $9,518. In 2012, Israel spent $12,338 per student in higher education, compared with the OECD average of $15,028. This anomaly traces back to the higher proportion of students in the Israeli population (33% compared to the OECD average of 24 percent).
