Women Surpass Men in Global Higher Education Enrollment — UNESCO

UNESCO has revealed that women now outnumber men in higher education globally, although major inequalities still exist in access, completion rates, and leadership representation. According to UNESCO’s first Higher Education Global Trends Report released on Tuesday, there were 114 women enrolled in higher education for every 100 men in 2024. The report stated that gender parity has been achieved in all regions except sub-Saharan Africa. The organisation noted that Central and Southern Asia recorded remarkable progress, moving from 68 women per 100 men in 2000 to achieving gender balance in 2023. Despite the increase in female enrollment, UNESCO said women remain underrepresented at doctoral level and hold only about one-quarter of senior leadership positions in academia. The report also revealed that the number of students enrolled in higher education worldwide has more than doubled over the past two decades, rising from about 100 million in 2000 to 269 million in 2024. UNESCO further stated that international student mobility has tripled during the same period, with nearly 7.3 million students studying abroad in 2023. Half of these students are hosted in Europe and North America. However, the organisation highlighted serious regional disparities in access to higher education. While around 80 per cent of young people in Western Europe and North America are enrolled in higher institutions, the figure stands at only nine per cent in sub-Saharan Africa. UNESCO Director-General, Khaled El-Enany, said the growing demand for higher education shows its importance in building sustainable societies, but stressed that equal opportunities are still lacking in many parts of the world. The report also noted that government investment in higher education averages 0.8 per cent of global GDP, while only one in five universities worldwide currently has a formal policy on artificial intelligence.