The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation has said women now outnumber men in higher education globally, although inequalities in access and completion rates persist across regions.
UNESCO disclosed this in its first report on global trends in higher education released on Tuesday.
According to the report, there were 114 women enrolled in higher education for every 100 men globally in 2024, with gender parity achieved in all regions except sub-Saharan Africa.
“Women now outnumber men in higher education: globally, there were 114 women enrolled in higher education for every 100 men in 2024. Gender parity has been achieved in all regions except sub-Saharan Africa.
“Central and South Asia have made significant progress, moving from 68 women enrolled for every 100 men in 2000 to gender parity in 2023.
“Women remain underrepresented at the doctoral level and hold only about a quarter of leadership positions in academia,” UNESCO said.
The report also showed that the number of students enrolled in higher education worldwide more than doubled over the last two decades, rising from about 100 million in 2000 to 269 million in 2024.
The report, which covered data from 146 countries, revealed significant regional disparities in access to higher education.
While about 80 per cent of young people in Western Europe and North America are enrolled in higher education, the figure stands at 59 per cent in Latin America and the Caribbean, 37 per cent in the Arab States region, 30 per cent in South and West Asia, and only nine per cent in sub-Saharan Africa.
UNESCO Director-General, Khaled El-Enany, said the growing demand for higher education underscored its importance in building sustainable societies.
“This new report highlights the growing demand for higher education, which plays an irreplaceable role in building sustainable societies.
“However, this expansion does not always translate into equal opportunities, underscoring the need to develop innovative funding models to provide quality and inclusive higher education,” he said.
The report also found that international student mobility more than tripled over the last 20 years, increasing from 2.1 million students in 2000 to nearly 7.3 million in 2023.
However, UNESCO said only three per cent of the world’s student population currently benefits from international mobility opportunities.
According to the report, seven countries — the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, Canada, Russia and France — host half of all international students globally.
It added that countries such as Turkey and the United Arab Emirates are becoming increasingly popular destinations for international students.
UNESCO further stated that private institutions 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.
The organisation noted that only one-third of countries legally guarantee free public higher education.
Despite growth in enrolment, the report said graduation rates have not increased at the same pace, with the global gross graduation rate rising from 22 per cent in 2013 to 27 per cent in 2024.
On refugees’ access to higher education, UNESCO said major barriers remain despite an increase in enrolment rates from one per cent in 2019 to nine per cent in 2025.
It identified difficulties in recognising qualifications, especially where documentation is incomplete or unavailable, as a major challenge facing refugees and forcibly displaced persons.
UNESCO said it is addressing the issue through its Qualifications Passport initiative currently being implemented in Iraq, Kenya, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The organisation also warned that funding pressures and the rapid expansion of higher education systems are straining quality standards globally.
According to the report, government investment in higher education represents an average of 0.8 per cent of global GDP.
UNESCO added that digital technologies and artificial intelligence are increasingly transforming teaching and learning, but only one in five universities had a formal AI policy as of 2025.
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Wow... what stupidity. There is no room for extremism in Islam? Distorting religious injunctions? We need to go back to the islam practiced by prophet mohammed? Are you kidding me right now? Mohammed was a warlord that started over 27 wars and fought in 9 of them during his lifetime. He personally beheaded hundred of Jews and massacred a whole settlement of them at Khaybar.
ReplyDelete"Fight those who do not believe in Allah, nor in the last day, nor hold that forbidden which has been forbideen by allah and his messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of truth, even if they are people of the book (Jews and Christians) till they pay the jizyah will willing submission and find themselves subdued." Quran 9:29
"Allah's Apostle said: "I have been ordered (by Allah) to fight against the people until they testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that Muhammad is Allah's Apostle, and offer the prayers perfectly and give the obligatory charity, so if they perform a that, then they save their lives and property from me except for Islamic laws and then their reckoning (accounts) will be done by Allah." Sahih Bukhari 2:24
The Messenger of Allah said: "I have been commanded to fight against people till they testify that there is no god but Allah, that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah, and they establish prayer and pay zakat." Sahih Muslim 1:33
I just quoted the number 1, 2 and 3 books in Islam and you are telling me that boko haram is distorting the religious injunctions? Abeg, go and sit down somewhere and think about your life, mmmmttttsssccchhheeeewwwwww!!!
Very useless set of idiots Terrorist religion...Dey have gathered at Mecca to discuss how dey are gonna commit atrocities all over the world......How i wish the whole of them will be Gas dere so dat none of them will be able to come out bcos de next thing if they comes back is to start committing evil and all sort of terrorist activities all over the world
ReplyDeleteAnother retard talking. Yes, u, 9ja guy. This is a scholar of high calibre talking. I mean Mr Onuoha. N here u r, a retard, sitting in a beer parlour spreading d very false interpretation of d Qur'an dt pushes BH to violence. I ve noticed Seth abt u, 9ja guy. U never say anything until d issue of Islam comes up. Sadly for u, Nigerians n d world now know better dm believe in BH n d likes of u dt spread hate msgs.
ReplyDeleteI like the fact that you called quoting your quran and hadith hate messages. lol. Those books contain really hate filled messages, on that, we can agree.
DeleteFalse interpretation? Oh, so I didn't quote those verses correctly? Alright, please, give us the correct English translation...
p.s. if you have noticed where I comment the most, it means that you also have been there; you have been hiding behind your anonymous posts for ages mmm..
Thank you very much 9jaguy, I wonder why someone would tell us islam does not teach radicalism. Boko haram are practising the true teachings of islam. Anybody who dispute that is either ignorant or hypocritical.
ReplyDeleteMuslim should have a rethink of the haeart and mind to institute peace and harmony, co-existence with other religious group for the purpose of pieace. People are free to chose their religious without jihad war or affecting other religious group. Northern part is poor but as a result of the introduction of sharia law, bh and others evil law thar subject the poor group to the law is making the region more poorer..
ReplyDeleteHeadlines; ISLAMIC SECT DECLARES CALIPHATE(Islamic state) IN IRAN,SYRIA IN AREAS CONTROLLED BY ISIS. They have never reacted seriously to dissociate their name being associated with all these violent sects. Stop deceiving people. Violence is synonymous to Islam.
ReplyDelete