Ghana Ranks Seventh With Highest Educated Politicians Globally

• Ghana's parliament has been ranked seventh in a global list of countries with the most educated politicians
• Global legislators and biographical data were used to measure educational qualifications from 2015 to 2017
• Ukraine was on top of the list, with about a quarter of its parliament having achieved a doctorate degree

Ghana has reportedly ranked seventh in a list of countries with the most educated politicians.

Political scientists from global universities did the ranking using data from 2015, 2017 and 2023.

Using a global legislators' database, they examined 56 countries with populations above two million and ranked the highest qualifications obtained by elected lawmakers in these parliaments by percentage terms from 2015 to 2017.

Ukraine is at the top of the list, followed by Poland, the Czech Republic, Taiwan, and South Korea.

The United States ranked sixth, followed by Ghana in seventh place and Slovenia in eighth place.

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The report, published in The Economist, disclosed that after biographical data was gathered on 20,000 parliamentarians from 97 countries between 2015 and 2017, an average of 78% of parliamentarians held at least a bachelor’s degree and 40% had postgraduate degrees.

The figures surpassed the global average education level among the general population, which is 35% in wealthy countries and 15% in poorer ones.

When the data was collected, nearly a quarter of Ukraine’s legislators held a doctorate degree; it also had the highest proportion of legislators with postgraduate degrees.

The study also found that globally, the most educated politicians lose elections at about the same rate as candidates with less formal education.

However, it was discovered that it was becoming more difficult for individuals without degrees to get their names on ballots.

In terms of education, the study stressed that legislatures have become less reflective of the populations they represent and expressed worry that this could have undesirable consequences due to the priority differences between legislators and the average citizen.

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The study said the situation could lead to voter apathy as more electorates would become disconnected from the political class.

Kofi Koranteng blasts parliamentarians

YEN.com.gh reported that the independent candidate Kofi Koranteng has described the members of the 8th Parliament as lacking the mental capacity to effectively fulfil their legislative mandate.

According to him, despite the Parliament’s large membership, it has failed to deliver the democratic dividends Ghanaians had expected it to due to members fighting over 'partisan interests' instead.

Proofread by Bruce Douglas, senior copy editor at YEN.com.gh

Source: YEN.com.gh