Israel is a world leader when it comes to academics, according to a report compiled recently by the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD).

Channel 2 News reported on Wednesday that the OECD report shows that Israel is ranked second among OECD member countries in terms of the number of academics.

45 percent of the Israeli population has a post-secondary education, the report found. Israel’s second place puts it ahead of many Western countries, including Japan, the UK, Finland, New Zealand and even the United States.

The report also states that Israel’s rating is particularly impressive in light of the ongoing budget cuts in higher education between the years 2000 and 2009.

The only country that ranked ahead of Israel is Canada, where 50 percent of the population has a post-secondary education.

Israel has been a member of the OECD since 2010. In October of that year, the organization held its bi-annual tourism conference in Jerusalem.