UNESCO: Women overtake men in higher education worldwide

UNESCO says women now outnumber men in higher education worldwide. In 2024, there were about 114 women in universities for every 100 men globally.

However, sub-Saharan Africa is the only region where men still outnumber women in higher education.

The report shows that more people are going to university than before. Student numbers have more than doubled since 2000, rising from 100 million to 269 million in 2024.

But access is not equal everywhere. In Western Europe and North America, about 80% of young people are in higher education. In contrast:

Latin America & Caribbean: 59%

Arab States: 37%

South & West Asia: 30%

Sub-Saharan Africa: 9%

UNESCO says women still face challenges in some areas. They are underrepresented at PhD level and hold only about 25% of leadership roles in universities.

International student travel has also increased a lot, from 2.1 million students in 2000 to about 7.3 million in 2023. But only 3% of all students study abroad.

Most international students go to a few countries like the US, UK, Australia, Germany, Canada, Russia, and France.

UNESCO also warned that funding is still low, with many governments spending just 0.8% of global GDP on higher education. Only about one-third of countries offer free public university education.

The report adds that AI and digital tools are changing education, but only 1 in 5 universities has a clear AI policy.