Russia has the highest percentage of college graduates in the world, with a little more than half of the Russian population holding an undergraduate degree or higher. Next are Canada, Israel and Japan, each of which have 40-50 percent of their population with undergraduate college degrees. The United States ranks 12th out of 36 industrialized nations in terms of college graduates, with less than 40 percent of the population holding any kind of higher education degree — ie., an associate's degree or higher.
More facts about higher education:
- Almost 70 percent of U.S. high school graduates enroll in college, but less than half of the students who start an undergraduate degree ever finish it.
- More than one-fourth of all U.S. college students require remedial classes in reading, writing and math in their first year of college.
- Students from higher-income families are almost eight times more likely to earn a bachelor's degree by the time they're 24 than those from low-income families.
- Several advantages will increase a student’s odds of getting into and graduating from college, such as having a support network and financial access to extra academic help, such as SAT math tutors or private college tutors.