A comparison of the relative quality of education in different countries could be made using mathematical, scientific, and reading literacy rates. It also helps to look at what percentage of teachers in a given country have special training, a university degree and the average number of years of teaching experience.

In Australia, students have 11 years of compulsory education. Although only English is compulsory through all levels of education, all students will study from the eight KLA's (Key Learning Areas). These are English, Health (including Physical Education and Sport), Languages Other Than English ( LOTE ), Mathematics, Science, Studies of Society and the Environment (includes history and geography), Technology (including Computer Studies) and The Arts ( Music, Art/Craft, Drama, Dance, Media ).

In comparative perfomance of fifteen year old students in OECD countries, Australian students ranked 5th out of 27 in Mathematical literacy, 6th out of 27 in Scientific literacy and 4th out of 27 for reading literacy.

After completion of high school, 63.3% of students will enrol in a tertiary course.

The answer to your question depends on the definition of the "education level of the population".
Almost all of the countries with a high number of years of schooling of adults are democracies.

Caution should be used before drawing conclusions relating democracy to education for the following reasons:

• Many of the comparative educational statistics only include countries which are democracies.


• Countries in which adults have a high number of years of schooling also share several other factors in common such as OECD membership and a high income level.


• Years of education does not give any indication of educational content or achievement. All Chinese students, for example take advanced mathematics and achievement in mathematics by male and female students is approximately equal.

School life expectancy is influenced by factors such as the economy and the cost of education.

Keeping a child in school may be too much of a strain on a poor family’s budget, especially if fees are charged. Even if schooling is free, people may opt to work because they don’t want to or can’t do without the money they earn by working.

If education is an investment, the benefits have to outweigh the costs. If a high school graduate earns significantly more than a person with only an elementary school education, staying in school makes economic sense. If the extra earnings are negligible, it may not.

Some countries offer free university education, which increases the likelihood of people continuing their education after high school, since it will not be a financial burden. In Finland, where there are no post-secondary tuition fees, 65 percent of high school graduates go on to a university or polytechnic institute. http://www.scandinavica.com/culture/education/best.htm