The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation has said women now outnumber men in higher education globally, although inequalities in access and completion rates persist across regions.
UNESCO disclosed this in its first report on global trends in higher education released on Tuesday.
According to the report, there were 114 women enrolled in higher education for every 100 men globally in 2024, with gender parity achieved in all regions 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.
“Central and South Asia have made significant progress, moving from 68 women enrolled for every 100 men in 2000 to gender parity in 2023.
“Women remain underrepresented at the doctoral level and hold only about a quarter of leadership positions in academia,” UNESCO said.
The report also showed that the number of students enrolled in higher education worldwide more than doubled over the last two decades, rising from about 100 million in 2000 to 269 million in 2024.
The report, which covered data from 146 countries, revealed significant regional disparities in access to higher education.
While about 80 per cent of young people in Western Europe and North America are enrolled in higher education, the figure stands at 59 per cent in Latin America and the Caribbean, 37 per cent in the Arab States region, 30 per cent in South and West Asia, and only nine per cent in sub-Saharan Africa.
UNESCO Director-General, Khaled El-Enany, said the growing demand for higher education underscored its importance in building sustainable societies.
“This new report highlights the growing demand for higher education, which plays an irreplaceable role in building sustainable societies.
“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,” he said.
The report also found that international student mobility more than tripled over the last 20 years, increasing from 2.1 million students in 2000 to nearly 7.3 million in 2023.
However, UNESCO said only three per cent of the world’s student population currently benefits from international mobility opportunities.
According to the report, seven countries — the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, Canada, Russia and France — host half of all international students globally.
It added that countries such as Turkey and the United Arab Emirates are becoming increasingly popular destinations for international students.
UNESCO further stated that private institutions account for about one-third of the global student population, with Latin America and the Caribbean recording the highest share at 49 per cent in 2023.
The organisation noted that only one-third of countries legally guarantee free public higher education.
Despite growth in enrolment, the report said graduation rates have not increased at the same pace, with the global gross graduation rate rising from 22 per cent in 2013 to 27 per cent in 2024.
On refugees’ access to higher education, UNESCO said major barriers remain despite an increase in enrolment rates from one per cent in 2019 to nine per cent in 2025.
It identified difficulties in recognising qualifications, especially where documentation is incomplete or unavailable, as a major challenge facing refugees and forcibly displaced persons.
UNESCO said it is addressing the issue through its Qualifications Passport initiative currently being implemented in Iraq, Kenya, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The organisation also warned that funding pressures and the rapid expansion of higher education systems are straining quality standards globally.
According to the report, government investment in higher education represents an average of 0.8 per cent of global GDP.
UNESCO added that digital technologies and artificial intelligence are increasingly transforming teaching and learning, but only one in five universities had a formal AI policy as of 2025.
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