This book is a reference work that examines a sample of the world's educational systems. The countries included are those that participated in an international study of multicultural education, along with other countries to provide a solid sampling of nations on all continents. Both developing and industrialized nations are included, as well as countries with different political philosophies and various religions. As countries have gradually begun to understand that it is important to educate all of their citizens, the concept of multicultural education arose. Addressing the problems of racial and ethnic minorities has required a new look at the history of these nations and the forces that resulted in the diversity of their populations. The educational systems of 42 countries are described, in alphabetical order, with the following information for each nation: (1) history of the educational system; (2) structure of the system; (3) multicultural education efforts; and (4) summary of educational efforts. References follow each entry, but there is also a 447-item bibliography. An appendix describes the international survey of multicultural education on which the book is based. (SLD)