The Assessment of the Educational Potential of the Regional Population of the Russian Federation

Aim: This article covers an important subject – the assessment of the educational potential of the regional population of the Russian Federation. This is one of the most fundamental issues in modern society to be considered for the future development of Russia. The authors look at the concept of educational potential, systematize its key indicators, and perform an index analysis of factors that characterize educational activity and the technical, material, and informational basis of education in the Russian regions. Methodology: This article introduces a number of integrated components that characterize educational activities as well as the technical, material, and informational basis of education. A structured list of recommendations is provided for the implementation of multidimensional regional classification, in line with both individual as well as broad indicators covered in the analysis. Results: The regression model is based on an integral indicator that characterizes educational activity and defines the index of educational performance: the share of employed, higher-educated members of the population aged 25–64 years in the total number of economically active people of the same age group. Integral indicators characterizing educational activity and the technical, material, and informational basis of education were used in the benchmark analysis which defined leading and lagging regions in the Russian Federation. Based on these indicators, a multidimensional breakdown structure was developed to distinguish the weaknesses of other regions in relation to the leader. Conclusion: These results may be useful for statisticians and economists for research on the level of informatization of the population and the economy.