According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Chile, Croatia, and Slovenia have the highest high school graduation rates in the world. In 2019, over 90% of students in these countries graduated from high school. By contrast, the graduation rate in the United States was just over 80%.
The OECD attributes the high graduation rates in Chile, Croatia, and Slovenia to several factors, including substantial public investment in education, high-quality teaching OECD, and rigorous academic standards.
These factors create a learning environment that is conducive to success. As a result, students in these countries are more likely to graduate from high school and pursue higher levels of education.
Countries With the Highest High School Graduation Rates 2019
| Rank | Country | Graduation Rate % |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Korea | 99 |
| 2 | Georgia | 96 |
| 3 | Japan | 95 |
| 4 | Croatia | 95 |
| 5 | Ukraine | 95 |
| 6 | United Kingdom | 94 |
| 7 | Armenia | 93 |
| 8 | Kazakhstan | 93 |
| 9 | Slovakia | 93 |
| 10 | Cyprus | 93 |
South Korea
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) released its report on the “Education at a Glance 2019”, ranking countries by their high school graduation rates. South Korea ranked first with a 95% graduation rate.
Singapore, Japan, and Switzerland followed with 94%, 93%, and 91%. The United States ranked 17th with an 80% graduation rate. This is a drop from the 12th place ranking the United States had in 2015.
While the United States has made some progress in narrowing achievement gaps among ethnic groups, it still lags behind other countries in terms of overall graduation rates. One reason for the low ranking is that the United States has a much higher percentage of students who transfer to postsecondary education without completing high school.
University Magazine is part of the 
