Education is more important than weapons.

"I know no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves, (A)nd if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion by education. This is the true corrective of abuses of constitutional power."

“The whole people must take upon themselves the education of the whole people and be willing to bear the expenses of it,”--Thomas Jefferson

"If Virtue & Knowledge are diffused among the People, they will never be enslav'd. This will be their great Security."

Samuel Adams, letter to James Warren, February 12, 1779

“There should not be a district of one mile square, without a school in it, not founded by a charitable individual, but maintained at the public expense of the people themselves.” --John Adams

“The advancement and diffusion of knowledge is the only guardian of true liberty.”--James Madison

I congratulate you on the foundation thus laid for a general System of Education, and hope it presages a superstructure, worthy of the patriotic forecast which has commenced the Work. The best service that can be rendered to a Country, next to that of giving it liberty, is in diffusing the mental improvement equally essential to the preservation, and the enjoyment of the blessing.
James Madison letter to Littleton Dennis Teackle, March 29, 1826; from the Madison Papers at the University of Virginia

No feature in the aspect of our Country is more gratifying, than the increase and variety of Institutions for educating the several ages and classes of the rising generation, and the meritorious patriotism which improving on their most improved forms extends the benefit of them to the sex heretofore, sharing too little of it. Considered as at once the fruits of our free System of Government, and the true means of sustaining and recommending it, such establishments are entitled to the best praise that can be offered.
James Madison letter to Gulian C. Verplanck, February 14, 1828; from the Madison Papers at the University of Virginia

 

The Most Educated Countries in the World

24/7 Wall St.

5. United States
 Pct. population with tertiary education: 42.5%
 Average annual growth rate (2000-2011): 1.4% (the least)
 Education expenditure as pct. of GDP: 7.3% (6th highest)

Public spending increased by 5% on average among OECD countries between 2008 and 2010. In the United States, however, spending decreased by 1% during that time. Still, the U.S. spent more than $22,700 per student in 2010 across all levels of education, by far the most among countries reviewed. Once they have 10 years of experience under their belt, American secondary school teachers earn some of the highest salaries for their profession among developed nations. Yet, on average, 16- to 24-year-olds in the U.S. display the lowest mathematical proficiency out of all the countries assessed by the OECD.

4. Israel
 Pct. population with tertiary education: 46.4%
 Average annual growth rate (2000-2011): n/a
 Education expenditure as pct. of GDP: 7.5% (5th highest)

In Israel, 18- to 21-year-old men and 18- to 20-year-old women are required to enlist in the military. According to the OECD, this has resulted in much lower levels of enrollment for residents in this age group. The average graduate from a tertiary program in Israel also tends to be older than in much of the OECD. Annual spending per student for primary through tertiary education is considerably lower than other well-educated countries. With two American chemists who emigrated from Israel winning the Nobel Prize recently, the country may attempt to boost tertiary funding in the future, according to The Wall Street Journal.

3. Japan
 Pct. population with tertiary education: 46.4%
 Average annual growth rate (2000-2011): 3.0% (14th lowest)
 Education expenditure as pct. of GDP: 5.1% (6th lowest)

Japan spent a smaller percentage of its GDP on education than the average country measured by the OECD. But the country still has one of the most educated populations in the world. Additionally, nearly 23% of Japanese adults were proficient at the highest levels of literacy, roughly double the U.S. proportion. High school graduation rates were also among the best in the world in 2011. According to the OECD, average yearly spending per tertiary student in 2010 was considerably higher than the OECD average, and it is expected to increase.

2. Canada
 Pct. population with tertiary education: 51.3
 Average annual growth rate (2000-2011): 2.3%
 Education expenditure as pct. of GDP: 6.6% (10th highest)

As of 2011, about one in four Canadian adults — the highest proportion in the OECD — had attained a career-oriented, skill-based education. In 2010, Canada spent $16,300 for post-secondary schooling per student annually, second only to the United States, which spent well over $20,000 per student. As a percentage of GDP, Canada spent nearly double the OECD average on the equivalent of a bachelor’s degree.

1. Russian Federation
 Pct. population with tertiary education: 53.5%
 Average annual growth rate (2000-2011): n/a
 Education expenditure as pct. of GDP: 4.9% (5th lowest)

In 2011, more than half of Russia’s population 25 to 64 had attained a tertiary education. Additionally, nearly 95% of adults held at least an upper-secondary qualification at that time, compared with the OECD average of 75%. Russia has, according to the OECD, a “historically strong investment in education.” However, recent news could tarnish Russia’s well-educated image. Reports suggest widespread corruption in the education system, including cheating on standardized tests, selling of doctorates to politicians and the wealthy and fake thesis factories.

I don't know about you, but I'd remove Russia from the list because of that cheating business.

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