More serving world leaders studied in US than any other country: UK think tank report
More serving world leaders have studied in the United States of America (USA) compared to any other country in the world so far this year, according to the annual Soft-Power Index published by the independent UK-based think tank Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI).
The report released this week shows the number of current world leaders who have been educated in a country other than their own. In 2022, the United States dominated the list yet again with 67 world leaders who have studied in American institutions. From 57 in 2017, this number has notably increased by 10, the biggest jump among all other countries.
“The US has built up such a commanding lead over every other country that it seems impossible to beat in the short to medium term,” states the report.
The report shows the United Kingdom has retained the second position, held since 2018, as 55 serving world leaders chose the country for their education. According to the HEPI report, the gap between the US and the UK has consistently widened in the last few years. Current leaders educated in the UK include Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán and Japanese emperor Naruhito.
HEPI director Nick Hillman highlighted the ‘clear’ trend of the US outshining other countries with respect to higher education, which has only improved over the years.
“It is often rightly said that two points are not enough to confirm a trend. But we now have data for six consecutive years and the trend is very very clear. Compared to the baseline year of 2017, the relative position of the United States has improved in every year, including 2022, thanks to its world-beating university system,” said Hillman in the report.
France retained its third position in 2022 yet again, with 31 serving world leaders opting for the country as their destination for education, the report shows. Russia ranks fourth on the list with 10 leaders studying at various institutes here.
Australia and Switzerland trail closely having educated 7 current world leaders, Canada and Germany with 6 each, and Italy and South Africa have had 5 current serving world leaders each studying.
HEPI defines world leaders as heads of state and heads of government including monarchs, presidents and prime ministers.The think tank said it looked at 356 postholders around the world for the report.
The report included countries which are members of, or observers at, the United Nations, currently at 195, said HEPI.
