In Norway, 39.7 per cent of the population between the ages of 25 and 34 has earned a degree. Canada and Japan enjoy a significant lead ahead of Korea and Norway worldwide.

Rolf Reikvam (representing the Norwegian political party SV), leader of the Standing Committee on Education, Research and Church Affairs, is very thrilled by Norway` s position. He considers education to be Norway` s competitive advantage in the industrial community. Furthermore, he denies that the current lead in Europe will give the politicians an incentive to rest on their laurels.

“We have to be reluctant to introduce tuition fees. The result will be fewer students if this were to happen,” he says.

Free Education, Not Imperative

Bjørn Haugstad (representing Høyre), State Secretary for the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research, is very pleased with Norway` s position. However, he is uncertain as to whether Norway will benefit from aspiring to an even larger percentage of the population with higher education.

“The question is how many people should be educated in order to maximise welfare? We cannot make the mistake of believing that higher education is the sole solution to everyone` s personal goals and society on the whole,” he says.

Haugstad is not surprised by Canada` s achievement. This is a country where education is not for free. Also Japan and Korea, respectively number two and three on the list, have tuition fees.

“This indicates that higher education funding and tuition fees do not solely result in a high percentage of the population with higher education,” Haugstad says.

Bjørn Petter Hernes at the Canadian Embassy in Oslo holds that Canada` s position is due to a strong education culture, various scholarships and grants and a large wage increase as a result of education.

“Tuition fees range between 1500 and 7000 Canadian dollars a year. But higher education is to a larger extent profitable in Canada as opposed to Norway,” he says.

Easy Access

Vibeke Opheim, a researcher with the Norwegian Institute for Studies in Research and Higher Education (NIFU), thinks that price and geographical accessibility explain Norway` s high position.

“But Norway stands out in the sense that there is a relatively low increase in wages as a result of higher education,” she says.

Rolf Reikvam is also preoccupied with accessibility and particularly points out everyone` s right to a general education.

“Norway has chosen the path of high spending. Education and competence should therefore be a top priority. We have to incorporate this actively in the expansion of the labour market,” he says.

According to the survey that includes the population aged between 25 and 64, Norway comes in sixth behind Sweden, Finland, Japan, the US and Canada, which tops this list as well.