The Best Country For Student Satisfaction In 2025? It’s Not Who You Think

A new global report on student satisfaction reveals a widening divide between online and on-campus learners, with virtual programs scoring significantly higher on key experience metrics — even as overall satisfaction dips in several critical categories, including student diversity and campus life.

The Global Student Satisfaction Awards 2025, released this week by Studyportals, draws on more than 126,000 student reviews across 126 countries to capture how learners feel about their academic experiences. Students in fully online programs reported far greater satisfaction — scoring 4.44 out of 5, compared to 4.08 for on-campus peers — especially when it comes to career development and teaching quality.

But the report also reveals signs of strain. The steepest year-over-year decline came in the category of student diversity, while satisfaction with quality of student life fell by more than 4%. “These results show where universities are winning student trust, and where they risk losing it,” says Edwin van Rest, CEO and co-founder of Studyportals. “Students are more confident about career prospects, but increasingly concerned about diversity and their quality of life.”

ONLINE LEARNING LEADS — BUT NOT EVERYWHERE

This year’s highest-performing countries may surprise. The United States took the top spot in global student satisfaction for the second year in a row, with an average score of 4.32 out of 5. It was followed closely by Belgium (4.29), Austria (4.28), the United Kingdom (4.23), and India (4.21). All five countries outpaced the global average and benefited from strong ratings in online programs and career support.

Not only did online-only students rate their experiences significantly higher across categories, but they also helped lift the overall scores in top-performing countries like the U.S. and India. Meanwhile Australia, a former mainstay in the top tier, fell out of the global top five in 2025, and regions such as Africa & the Middle East and parts of Asia-Pacific posted below-average results.

Globally, career development was one of the few areas to show improvement, rising by 0.5% year-over-year, while admissions (-1.0%), teaching quality (-0.8%), and teacher interaction (-0.5%) all declined slightly.

DIVERSITY & QUALITY OF LIFE IN FOCUS

Perhaps the most concerning signal in this year’s findings is the decline in the diversity score — down 2.2% from 2023 — which reached its lowest level in three years. The report also notes a substantial drop in student satisfaction with quality of life, which had long been a hallmark advantage of in-person education.

As Studyportals points out, satisfaction is now being shaped by more than just academics. Career outcomes, inclusion, and student well-being are becoming increasingly central to how students assess their programs — and where they choose to enroll.