Tertiary Enrolment
Around 240 million students are enrolled in tertiary education globally in 2024 — up from 28 million in 1970. The gross tertiary enrolment ratio (GTER) has risen from 10% to 42% over the same period. Several high-income countries now educate two-thirds of their young adults to tertiary level. Women now outnumber men in tertiary enrolment in most countries.
Key insights
Sustained expansion since 1970
Global tertiary enrolment has grown roughly 8-fold since 1970, faster than any other education level. Drivers: rising prosperity, knowledge-economy returns to skills, government investment in university capacity, female participation, and rising secondary completion creating eligible candidates. The trajectory is similar across OECD, East Asia and most of Latin America; sub-Saharan Africa lags.
The gender reversal is global
In every region except sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, women now outnumber men in tertiary enrolment. The gap is largest in the Gulf states and several Caribbean countries (140+ women per 100 men), substantial across Europe and Latin America, and present even in much of the Middle East. The reversal is fully present among under-30 graduates; older cohorts retain a male majority in degree-holders.
Massification has not erased the labour-market premium
Despite expansion, the wage premium for tertiary education remains substantial — averaging ~40% in the OECD. The 'over-education' hypothesis (rising supply will erode the premium) has consistently underperformed predictions. The skills-biased technical change literature explains why: technology demand for high-skill workers has grown roughly in step with supply. Where the premium has compressed (some European economies) it reflects compressed wage structures, not university expansion.
Gross tertiary enrolment ratio — major economies (2024)
Tertiary students as % of population in the standard tertiary age cohort
Key Finding: South Korea, Greece and Australia educate more than 90% of young adults at tertiary level by this measure; sub-Saharan African ratios remain below 15%.
Global gross tertiary enrolment ratio 1970–2024
World total tertiary students as % of standard age cohort
Key Finding: Quadrupled over 50 years; trajectory remains upward.
Methodology & caveats
Gross enrolment ratio vs net
GTER divides total enrolment by the population in the standard tertiary age cohort (usually 18–23). Net enrolment ratio (NTER) counts only students in the standard age range. GTER can exceed 100% because mature students, repeaters and international students are included in the numerator but not the denominator. South Korea's 98% GTER is fully consistent with universal participation; Greece's 148% reflects mature-student-heavy patterns.
ISCED levels
Tertiary education spans ISCED levels 5–8: short-cycle (5), bachelor's (6), master's (7), doctoral (8). Cross-country comparisons should be careful — some countries include non-degree professional training in tertiary statistics; others don't. The OECD provides harmonized splits.
Quality vs quantity
Enrolment ratios measure participation, not learning outcomes. PISA scores (covering 15-year-olds) and OECD adult-skills surveys (PIAAC) show that variation in tertiary quality across countries is large and not always correlated with enrolment ratios. High-GTER countries with weak PIAAC scores include several Latin American economies; the opposite is true in some Scandinavian and East Asian systems.