The World Economic Forum's annual competitiveness report shows where US education lags behind other countries

The World Economic Forum (WEF) released its 2016-2017 Global Competitiveness Report, and while the United States ranked 3rd among the 138 economies surveyed overall, on education,its competitivenesslagged behind.On the indicator of higher education, the US ranked 8th, while it ranked 39th forhealth and primary educationcompetitiveness.The report further breaks apartthe components of the health and primary education indicator, ranking the US 46th for primary education and notes that theOrganisation for Economic Co'operation and Development (OECD)country average beat the US inhealth and primary education.Donald Trump often touts the fact that the US trails other countries inrankings of primary education."You have Norway, Sweden, Denmark, China, you have lots of places. You have some countries youve never even heard of are ahead of the USA," he said at a rally in February, before vowing to improve American education.Belowis the top 5 ranked countries, in terms of primary education, in the WEF report:FinlandBelgiumSingaporeNetherlandsNew ZealandIn higher education, however, the US performed better, ranking 8th. A low number within the top 10 is still a bit surprising as US colleges and universities are known for their strength.For example, on theCenter for World University Rankingsthe top top 1,000 universities in the world, 224 are in the US, 90 are in China, 74 are in Japan, and 65 are in the United Kingdom.Belowis the top 5 ranked countries, in terms of higher education, in the WEF report:SingaporeFinlandNetherlandsSwitzerlandBelgiumThe ranking included measures ofsecondary (high school) and tertiary (college and beyond)enrollment rates, quality of education system, and quality of math and science education.Along with quantitative statistics, the report utilized qualitative measures from an executive opinion survey where comparable statistical data was not available.SEE ALSO:This chart shows how quickly college tuition has skyrocketed since 1980Join the conversation about this storyNOW WATCH: Former Princeton admissions director reveals the biggest mistakes applicants make
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