Acees to Higher Education. What is data reveling us?
The past decade has seen a significant growth in enrolment, yet millions around the world are still denied their right to education, and learning opportunities continue to be unequally distributed.
Over 235 million higher education students were enrolled globally in 2020, more than double the 100 million students enrolled in 2000. Higher Education enrolment has increased in all SDG regional groupings, but at different rates, changing the distribution of students between regions. The number of students in Europe and Northern America increased by 24% between 2000 and 2020, going from accounting for 40% of the world’s enrolment in 2000 to 21% in 2020. In the same two decades, the number of students in Central and Southern Asia increased 268%, the highest rate among regional groupings, going from representing 13% of world students in 2000 to 21% in 2020.
The gross enrolment rate shows the general level of participation in a given level of education. The gross enrolment rate for tertiary education indicates the total enrolment in tertiary education regardless of age expressed as a percentage of the population in the 5-year age group immediately following upper secondary education (UIS Glossary). The indicator has limitations but offers an estimation of education system capacity.
In the 2000- 2020 period, the biggest regional increase in the gross enrolment rate was in Eastern and South-Eastern Asia (up 36 percentage points), and the smallest in Sub-Saharan Africa (up 5 percentage points). In 2020, the gross enrolment rate reached 27% in Central and Southern Asia; between 48% and 54% in Northern Africa and Western Asia, Eastern and South-Eastern Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean; 75% in Oceania; and 79% in Europe and Northern America (UIS database).
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