LONDON, UK - Media OutReach - 7 March 2019 - 

• Finland'sstrong policy, teaching and socio-economic environments propel it to top of 50economies in the second edition of the Worldwide Educating for the Future Index(WEFFI), produced by The Economist Intelligence Unit and commissioned by theYidan Prize Foundation
• Switzerlandand New Zealand follow closely behind, the latter having taken the top spot in2017's inaugural ranking
• The UK ranks tenth,down four spots from its 2017 ranking, hurt by low scores on quality of teachereducation and government expenditure on education

The Worldwide Educating forthe Future Index (WEFFI) 2018: Top ten economies

Future-focused approaches to education must move beyondrigid, exam-based methods and encompass problem-based learning, innovativeteaching methods and broader themes of global citizenship. Progress ontransforming the world's education systems to meet these goals is uneven,according to a new report released today by The Economist Intelligence Unit(EIU).

Themed "Building tomorrow's globalcitizens", the white paper is commissioned by the Yidan PrizeFoundation and based on the findings of the second annual Worldwide Educating forthe Future Index. With a focus on young people aged 15-24 in 50 economies, itmeasures three pillars of education systems--policy approaches, teachingconditions and broader gauges of societal freedom and openness--as a means ofreadying young people to meet the challenges of work and society in future.

Michael Gold, editor of the report, said, "The second editionof the index shows that while education systems are starting to recognise theimportance of holistic approaches to learning, many gaps still exist. Economiesaround the world must strengthen assessment frameworks, regularise reviews ofcurriculums and improve teaching conditions. Perhaps most importantly, therecent retrenchment away from globalisation by many economies may threatenstudents' abilities to develop an inquisitive mind-set and tackle the bigproblems of tomorrow."

The full report andeconomy snapshots of Finland, Ghana, the US and Vietnam can be downloaded here.