UNESCO reports women now outnumber men inhigher education worldwide

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) reports that women now outnumber men in higher education worldwide, although gaps in access and completion remain across regions.

This finding appears in UNESCO’s inaugural global higher‑education trends report released on Tuesday.

For 2024, the report shows 114 women enrolled in higher education for every 100 men globally, with gender parity achieved in every region except sub‑Saharan Africa.

“Women now outnumber men in higher education: globally, there were 114 women enrolled in higher education for every 100 men in 2024. Gender parity has been achieved in all regions except sub‑Saharan Africa,” the agency stated.

“Central and South Asia have made significant progress, moving from 68 women enrolled for every 100 men in 2000 to gender parity in 2023,” UNESCO added.

“Women remain underrepresented at the doctoral level and hold only about a quarter of leadership positions in academia,” the organisation noted.

The report also indicates that total enrolment in higher education more than doubled over the past two decades, rising from roughly 100 million in 2000 to 269 million in 2024.

Data from 146 countries reveal stark regional differences in higher‑education participation.

Approximately 80 percent of young people in Western Europe and North America are enrolled, compared with 59 percent in Latin America and the Caribbean, 37 percent in the Arab States, 30 percent in South and West Asia, and just nine percent in sub‑Saharan Africa.

UNESCO Director‑General Khaled El‑Enany said the rising demand for higher education underscores its vital role in building sustainable societies.

“This new report highlights the growing demand for higher education, which plays an irreplaceable role in building sustainable societies,” he said.

“However, this expansion does not always translate into equal opportunities, underscoring the need to develop innovative funding models to provide quality and inclusive higher education,” El‑Enany added.

International student mobility has more than tripled in the last 20 years, increasing from 2.1 million in 2000 to nearly 7.3 million in 2023.

Nevertheless, UNESCO notes that only three percent of the global student body benefits from such mobility.

The report identifies seven countries—the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, Canada, Russia and France—as hosts of half of all international students worldwide.

It also observes that Turkey and the United Arab Emirates are emerging as increasingly popular destinations for international scholars.

Private institutions now account for about one‑third of the global student population, with Latin America and the Caribbean recording the highest share at 49 percent in 2023.

Only one‑third of nations legally guarantee free public higher education.

Although enrolment has risen, graduation rates have not kept pace; the global gross graduation rate climbed from 22 percent in 2013 to 27 percent in 2024.

Regarding refugees, UNESCO reports that significant barriers persist despite enrolment increasing from one percent in 2019 to nine percent in 2025.

The agency highlights difficulties in recognising qualifications—especially when documentation is incomplete or unavailable—as a major challenge for refugees and forcibly displaced persons.

UNESCO is addressing this through its Qualifications Passport initiative, currently being implemented in Iraq, Kenya, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The organisation also warns that funding pressures and rapid expansion of higher‑education systems are straining quality standards worldwide.

Government investment in higher education averages 0.8 percent of global GDP, according to the report.

Digital technologies and artificial intelligence are increasingly reshaping teaching and learning, yet only one in five universities had a formal AI policy as of 2025.