The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization has revealed that women now outnumber men in higher education globally, although inequalities in access, completion rates, and leadership opportunities continue to persist across regions.
UNESCO disclosed this in its first global trends report on higher education released on Tuesday, showing that there were 114 women enrolled in higher education for every 100 men worldwide in 2024.
According to the report, gender parity in higher education has now been achieved in all regions except Sub-Saharan Africa.
The organisation noted that Central and South Asia recorded significant progress, moving from 68 women enrolled for every 100 men in 2000 to gender parity by 2023.
Despite the gains, UNESCO said women remain underrepresented at the doctoral level and currently occupy only about a quarter of leadership positions in academia.
The report further showed that global higher education enrolment has more than doubled over the past two decades, rising from about 100 million students in 2000 to 269 million in 2024.
Drawing data from 146 countries, UNESCO highlighted major regional disparities in access to higher education. According to the report, about 80 per cent of young people in Western Europe and North America are enrolled in higher education, compared to 59 per cent in Latin America and the Caribbean, 37 per cent in the Arab States, 30 per cent in South and West Asia, and just nine per cent in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Khaled El-Enany said the rising demand for higher education reflects its growing importance in building sustainable societies, but warned that expansion does not always translate into equal opportunities.
The report also found that international student mobility has more than tripled in the last two decades, increasing from 2.1 million students in 2000 to nearly 7.3 million in 2023, although only three per cent of the world’s student population currently benefits from studying abroad.
UNESCO identified the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, Canada, Russia, and France as hosting half of all international students globally, while countries such as Turkey and the United Arab Emirates are emerging as increasingly popular study destinations.
The organisation added that 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 per cent in 2023.
UNESCO also noted that only one-third of countries legally guarantee free public higher education, while graduation rates have grown more slowly than enrolment, rising from 22 per cent in 2013 to 27 per cent in 2024.
On refugee education, the report said enrolment rates rose from one per cent in 2019 to nine per cent in 2025, but challenges such as qualification recognition and incomplete documentation continue to limit access for displaced persons.
UNESCO said it is tackling the issue through its Qualifications Passport initiative currently being implemented in Iraq, Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
The organisation further warned that funding pressures and the rapid expansion of higher education systems are putting quality standards under strain globally, noting that government investment in higher education averages just 0.8 per cent of global GDP.
It also stated that while digital technologies and artificial intelligence are reshaping teaching and learning worldwide, only one in five universities had adopted a formal AI policy as of 2025.
