Based on the data by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the British edition of the US magazine, Business Insider, ranked the 10 smartest countries in the world when it comes to science, including Estonia in the ranking.
Using data from OECD’s 2015 Science, Technology and Industry Scoreboard report, the ranking is based on the percentage of science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) degrees awarded per capita.
“If we are to solve the biggest problems of our time – from climate change and food security to – we’re going to need more scientists,” the magazine said.
Estonia earned a respectable seventh position in the ranking, with 26% of its students graduating with a STEM degree.
Business Insider also pointed out that Estonia had one of the highest percentages of female STEM graduates, at 41% in 2012.
10 of the smartest countries in the world, based on science degrees:
10. Portugal
9. Austria
8. Mexico
7. Estonia
6. Greece
5. France
4. Finland
3. Sweden
2. Germany
1. South Korea
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Cover: In 2013, Estonia became the 41st nation to have a man-made object in space, when its first satellite, ESTCube-1, was rocketed off to orbit the Earth. Around 100 students and scientists contributed to creation of the tiny one-kilogram satellite, which was nearly six years in the making. The satelliite was used as the basis for 40 research projects and three doctoral theses. Picture by Taavi Torim (Wikimedia Commons).
