Abstract: The object of this research is the education systems of various countries, particularly Russian Federation, United States, Great Britain, Switzerland, Finland, and Japan. The subject is the structure of education system of each country, as well as its key peculiarities. The author meticulously reveals the concept of the system of education of each country at hand, examines the positions of the state held in global rating of the quality of education systems over the period of 2013-2015, as well as provides the results of comparative analysis of separate aspects of the education systems of the aforementioned countries for determining the similarities and differences. The main conclusion consists in the statement that the education system of each of the examined countries represents a unique form of educating citizens that has established as a result of historical specificities of the country, as well as affected by the mentality and level of government control. The scientific novelty lies in studying of certain aspects of the education systems of Russian Federation, United States, Great Britain, and Switzerland from the new perspective. Comparative analysis of the initial level of education and policy of state exams, led to determination of the strengths and weaknesses in each system. Practical significance of this work is defined by the increased level of knowledge of the population on the structure and peculiarities of education systems in several countries, as well as potential application in various circumstances.