PARIS, May 13 — The number of students enrolled in higher education worldwide has more than doubled over the past two decades, but major geographical and gender inequalities persist, according to UNESCO's first Higher Education Global Trends Report published on Tuesday.
Xinhua reported that, based on new data from 146 countries, the document shows that global enrollment in higher education rose from about 100 million in 2000 to 269 million in 2024.
However, this growth masks sharp regional disparities: in Western Europe and North America, 80 per cent of young people are enrolled in higher education, compared with nine per cent in sub-Saharan Africa.
Meanwhile, only three per cent of students worldwide go abroad for higher education.
The report also noted that women remain underrepresented at the doctoral level and hold only about one-quarter of leadership positions in academia.
The lack of complete and verifiable documents proving qualifications also poses a major barrier to refugees' access to higher education, particularly in Global South countries.
To address this issue, UNESCO has introduced the Qualifications Passport, a tool designed to help recognise the academic, professional and vocational qualifications of refugees and forcibly displaced people.
