By the end of this decade, four out of every 10 of the world’s young graduates are going to come from just two countries – China and India.
The projection from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) shows a far-reaching shift in the balance of graduate numbers, with the rising Asian economies accelerating ahead of the United States and western Europe.
The forecasts for the shape of the “global talent pool” in 2020 show China as rapidly expanding its graduate numbers – set to account for 29% of the world’s graduates aged between 25 and 34.
The biggest faller is going to be the United States – down to 11% – and for the first time pushed into third place, behind India.
The US and the countries of the European Union combined are expected to account for little more than a quarter of young graduates.
Russia is also set to decline – its share of the world’s graduates almost falling by half since the beginning of the century.
Indonesia, according to the OECD’s projections, will rise into fifth place.
via BBC News – End of empire for Western universities?.
