The FDI angle:

• Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (Stem) graduates are highly demanded worldwide, but often in short supply.
• Stem graduates can earn high wages and have the skills needed for technological development and innovation.
• Why does this matter? Stem graduates can help countries develop high-growth strategic industries through fields like applied artificial intelligence, quantum computing, bioengineering and electrification.

Most of the top 20 countries by proportion of Stem tertiary graduates belong to the developing world, showing how policy-makers in emerging economies are trying to use the promotion of technical subjects to foster innovation and economic development.

In 2022, Malaysia had the greatest share (40.2%) of its higher education graduates with a degree in a Stem subject, according to fDi analysis of figures compiled by Unesco through an annual global survey of formal education. This analysis only includes countries with a population of at least 50,000.

The next highest reported Stem graduate shares in 2022 were in Turkmenistan (39.6%), Tunisia (37.9%) and Trinidad and Tobago (35.4%). Some countries included in the top 20 had no data for 2022 due to not participating in Unesco’s latest survey of formal education. The next available year was used in these cases including Oman, where 39.5% of graduates studied Stem subjects in 2021, Iran (39% in 2020) and Brunei (38.4% in 2020).

Stem subjects consist of a number of broad fields including mathematics and statistics, information and communication technology, and natural sciences. Stem graduates are sought after for their skills relating to data analysis, problem-solving and critical thinking. 

Patrick Montjouridès, head of Unesco’s education in administration data section, cautions that “there isn’t a simple answer” as to why certain countries have higher shares of Stem graduates. Rather, it is determined by a combination of factors such as targeted government policies, cultural norms and family expectations.  

Other researchers attribute lower shares of Stem graduates in developed countries to their more diversified higher education systems, which offer a wider selection of non-Stem subjects in areas like social sciences and humanities.

“In developing countries, higher education systems tend to be newer and focus more on modernisation of their economies for which Stem fields are seen as more important,” says Gero Federkeil, head of international rankings for the CHE Centre for Higher Education.

A high number of Stem graduates helps to boost competitiveness, innovation and tackle climate change. It helps countries become more attractive to foreign investment as companies seek to address global shortages of technical talent. Despite appearing further down in this top 20 analysis, a number of developed economies like the US have targeted strategies to promote Stem education.

More tech-related data trends:

• Opinion| Don't assume the West will remain dominant in tech and AI
• Mind the tech gap: the AI divide in Europe
• Dubai ranks as world's fastest growing VC ecosystem
• Big tech layoffs barely touch pandemic-era hiring
• Venture capital-backed exits disintegrate

Malaysia topped the list of countries due to several measures to boost Stem education including a new secondary school science curriculum in 2017 and a school-based assessment in 2011. The government of the south-east Asian country’s 60:40 policy aims to increase the proportion of Stem graduates to 60%. 

These efforts are in part an effort to address a decline of interest in Stem subjects in Malaysia and a shortage of engineers for hi-tech sectors such as semiconductors and electronics.

Turkmenistan placed second overall. Serious efforts have been made to make fuller use of science and education in the Central Asian country over the past decade. These include 2013 reforms to the secondary school system, the creation of a national technology centre in 2014 and the opening of the Oguz Khan University of Engineering Technologies in 2016. 

Tunisia was the highest-ranked African country with almost 38% of its graduates having taken Stem subjects, followed by Mauritania (34.6% in 2020). A number of Muslim-majority countries feature highly on the list, such as like Oman, Iran, the UAE (33.1% in 2020) and Uzbekistan. Research from Purdue University shows that more women take Stem subjects in many of these countries than in developed countries such as the US.

The only country in the Americas to feature in the top 20 is Trinidad and Tobago (35.4%), where science and technology has been made a key pillar of the government’s efforts to promote sustainable economic development.