Online information databases – International Comparisons
The International Comparisons databases give you online access to the largest information bank of international qualifications in the world.

Over 4,000 qualifications from secondary to postgraduate level are detailed, spanning 200 countries, former countries and territories, with detailed information on education systems and qualification frameworks. There is also information on professional and vocational frameworks.

Pop-up menus, diagrams and colour-coded charts make the resources easy to use and understand and enable comparison and mapping to UK qualifications and frameworks.


Our databases are of benefit to:
  • Any organisation recruiting internationally
  • University, school and college admissions teams and international departments
  • Professional bodies and chartered institutes
  • Advisers to migrants, asylum seekers and refugees
  • Education councils
  • Careers advisers
  • Government and ministries of education


The information databases comprise:
  • International Comparisons (IC) is the principal database, covering academic, vocational and professional qualifications from 200 countries, former countries and territories around the world;

and is supplemented by:

  • European Grade Distributions (EGD) (publication format), comparing and mapping grading systems and grade distributions from across Europe, for those recruiting from inside the EU;
  • European Secondary Qualifications (ESQ), providing detailed information on the secondary education structures and streams and secondary qualifications across the 27 EU member states and EEA countries;
  • Vocational Comparisons (VC), detailing vocational education and training qualifications across 50 countries.

Plus the specialised databases:

  • International Secondary Qualifications (ISQ), extending the secondary education coverage beyond Europe, to over 75 countries worldwide;
  • Teaching Comparisons and Childcare Comparisons, detailing the training systems and qualifications for these sectors spanning over 70 countries.

Our databases help you to identify and access the best professional talent and the students with most potential. They assist you in ensuring compliance and in mitigating risk, they build in-house expertise and they reduce costs by accelerating the screening process and reducing processing times.

Specialist applications are assisted, such as recognition of professional status for applications to teach and for admission to other professions; and immigration applications, such as identifying eligibility for visas under Points Based Systems.

Access to the International Comparisons databases is by UK ENIC membership subscription: contact the Membership Services Team.

In addition to these databases, Ecctis offers a range of advanced research and online comparator tools – in particular, International Grade Comparisons.