The Office of the Education Council (OEC) has rejected a report placing Thailand's education system below those of most other Asean countries, saying the ranking did not provide clear facts or reflect the current situation.
The 2025 education ranking by World Population Review, a demographic data website, puts Thailand in 107th place globally among the 203 countries reviewed and below seven of the other nine Asean countries -- Singapore 11th, Brunei 47th, Indonesia 67th, Vietnam 53rd, Philippines 71st, Malaysia 89th and Laos at 102. Only Myanmar and Cambodia were ranked lower.
South Korean was ranked first, followed by Denmark and the Netherlands.
Assoc Prof Prawit Erawan, secretary-general of the OEC, said the ranking conflicted with data the review said it sourced from the annual Best Countries Report by US News and World Report, BAV Group and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
That report covered 73 countries and showed Thailand in 48th place, ranked third in Asean behind Singapore, 22nd, and Malaysia, 37th. Laos and Brunei were not in the lists.
The World Population Review did not give any other information related to the ranking, so to say that Thailand was near the bottom could be unfounded and needed to be considered and interpreted carefully, Mr Prawit said.
He said other data shown on the website included the literacy rate of the population in each country that used information from 2021, which did not reflect the current situation.
The OEC had been conducting its own literacy rate assessment of Thais aged 15 years and more. The initial literacy result was 99%, the highest in Asean, he said. Final results would be available later this month.
Mr Prawit said each organisation had its own focus and purpose. People should focus on the literacy rate as it better explained the relative strength and weakness of each country.
However, the World Population Review ranking did show the need for Thailand to be alert and serious about solving problems within the education system and developing it further, Mr Prawit said.