It was Joseph Nye who, in 1990, defined soft power as the ability of countries to influence others through their culture, values and education. Three decades later, the concept is still alive and its measurement is finding new forms. One of these is the Soft Power Index, produced annually by the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) and Kaplan International Pathways, which ranks countries by the number of world leaders educated at their universities.
The 2025 Index released last week in London shows that the United States leads the world with 66 leaders educated at American institutions. The United Kingdom follows closely behind with 59 leaders, its best historical record and the same number as in 2022. Together, in the two countries, more than 60% of leaders currently in power are concentrated in foreign-educated leaders, confirming a clear bipolarization of global education power. The report also shows a clear trend: Continental Europe is losing relative presence. France, a traditional education power, rose from 40 leaders in 2019 to 23 leaders in 2025, while Germany fell out of the top 10 for the first time since the measurement was taken. Meanwhile, Russia achieved its best ever finish with thirteen top performers, and India stormed into the rankings with five, doubling its record from previous years.
In Latin America and the Caribbean, relations continue to trend towards the United States. The presidents and prime ministers of Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, Paraguay, the Dominican Republic, Belize, Dominica and St. Kitts and Nevis studied at North American universities. With the departure of Luis Arce in Bolivia, who holds a postgraduate degree from the UK’s University of Warwick, and the entry of Rodrigo Paz with a master’s degree in political management from the American University, the only UK-educated leader will be Mark Phillips of Guyana.
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Although the number of foreign-educated Latin American leaders is relatively small compared to other regions, this trend reaffirms the symbolic weight of American universities in educating the hemisphere’s political elites.
The outlook for 2025 therefore allows for several conclusions. First, the Americans and British retain a structural leadership role that is difficult to challenge. Secondly, the UK shows that through its universities it can maintain its international weight even in a context of less European integration. Third, emerging economies such as Russia and India are beginning to use education as a tool of diplomacy and influence. And fourth, the Latin American record suggests that the global projection in this area is still from the north.
*Director of Analysis and Research at: gormanlee.com.
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