Posted by Chinenye on Tue 12th May, 2026 - tori.ng
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has reported a major shift in global higher education, revealing that women now outnumber men in university enrolment worldwide.
(Higher institution students. photo Credit: the guarddian nigerian news)
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has revealed that women now outnumber men in higher education globally, even as disparities in access and completion rates continue to persist across different regions.
The disclosure was made in UNESCO's first-ever report on global trends in higher education, released on Tuesday. The report found that for every 100 men enrolled in higher education worldwide in 2024, there were 114 women, with gender parity achieved across all regions with the exception of sub-Saharan Africa.
Notable progress was also recorded in Central and South Asia, where the ratio has improved dramatically from 68 women per 100 men in 2000 to full gender parity by 2023.
Despite these gains, women remain underrepresented at the doctoral level and hold only about a quarter of leadership positions within academic institutions.
The report, which drew on data from 146 countries, also highlighted a remarkable expansion in global higher education enrolment, which more than doubled over two decades from approximately 100 million students in 2000 to 269 million in 2024.
However, significant regional gaps remain. While around 80 percent of young people in Western Europe and North America are enrolled in higher education, the figure drops to 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 acknowledged the growing demand for higher education and its vital role in building sustainable societies, but cautioned that expansion does not automatically translate into equal access, emphasizing the need for innovative funding models to ensure quality and inclusivity.
The report further found that international student mobility more than tripled over the past two decades, rising from 2.1 million students in 2000 to nearly 7.3 million in 2023. Nevertheless, only three percent of the global student population currently benefits from such opportunities.
Seven countries the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, Canada, Russia, and France collectively host half of all international students, while Turkey and the United Arab Emirates are emerging as increasingly popular destinations.
On funding and institutional structure, the report noted that private institutions account for roughly one-third of global student enrolment, with Latin America and the Caribbean recording the highest share at 49 percent in 2023.
Only one-third of countries worldwide legally guarantee free public higher education, and government investment in the sector averages just 0.8 percent of global GDP.
Despite rising enrolment figures, graduation rates have not kept pace, with the global gross graduation rate edging up from 22 percent in 2013 to 27 percent in 2024.
On the issue of refugee access, UNESCO noted that while enrolment rates have improved from one percent in 2019 to nine percent in 2025, significant barriers remain — particularly around the recognition of qualifications where documentation is incomplete.
The organisation said it is working to address this through its Qualifications Passport initiative, currently being implemented in Iraq, Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
UNESCO also flagged concerns about the impact of rapid expansion on quality standards, and noted that while digital technologies and artificial intelligence are increasingly reshaping teaching and learning, only one in five universities had a formal AI policy in place as of 2025.