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In all countries, those with degrees on average earn more than those without, but graduates’ wage premiums vary widely across countries. In Sweden, those with bachelor’s degrees earn just 15 per cent more than those with upper secondary qualifications (such as A levels), compared with 74 per cent in Hungary, 65 per cent in the US and 57 per cent in Israel.

There were also large differences in the salary boost a master’s or doctoral degree gave over a bachelor’s degree. The biggest boost was in France (52 per cent), followed by the US (47), Hungary (44), Israel (43), South Korea (33), Sweden (31), the Czech Republic (29), Canada (24) Australia (17) and the UK (13).

The data are taken from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Education at a Glance 2015.

david.matthews@tesglobal.com