Share of women among tertiary (higher-education) students
Percentage of tertiary students who are women by country (most recent year 2019–2023), based on UNESCO Institute for Statistics data.
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Key Insights
- •In many countries, women constitute a majority of tertiary students (often ~55–60%).
- •Some countries remain far below parity, indicating persistent barriers to women’s participation in higher education.
- •This metric can move quickly over a decade, reflecting policy shifts, demographic change, and expansion of tertiary systems.
Country Rankings
Top 10 Countries
Bottom 10 Countries
Data Analysis
Value Distribution
How countries are distributed across the value range
Regional Comparison
Average values by world region (Global avg: 49.8%)
About This Statistic
This statistic shows the share of enrolled tertiary (higher-education) students who are female, expressed as a percentage of total tertiary enrolment. It’s a simple but revealing lens on gender balance in higher education—highlighting countries where women form the majority of university/college students, and where women remain underrepresented.
Data come from official country reporting compiled by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) and disseminated via the World Bank’s World Development Indicators (WDI). Values reflect the latest available year per country within roughly 2019–2023 (varies by country), making it a broadly comparable, recent global snapshot of women’s participation in tertiary education.
Full Data
| Rank ↑ | Country ↕ | Value ↕ |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kuwait | 63.0% |
| 2 | Tunisia | 63.0% |
| 3 | Uruguay | 63.0% |
| 4 | Jamaica | 62.0% |
| 5 | Cayman Islands | 61.0% |
| 6 | Dominican Republic | 61.0% |
| 7 | Faroe Islands | 60.0% |
| 8 | Iceland | 60.0% |
| 9 | Norway | 60.0% |
| 10 | Suriname | 60.0% |
| 11 | Sweden | 60.0% |
| 12 | Trinidad and Tobago | 60.0% |
| 13 | Sri Lanka | 59.3% |
| 14 | Cuba | 59.0% |
| 15 | Latvia | 59.0% |
| 16 | Lithuania | 59.0% |
| 17 | Oman | 59.0% |
| 18 | Namibia | 59.0% |
| 19 | Estonia | 58.0% |
| 20 | Haiti | 58.0% |
| 21 | Israel | 58.0% |
| 22 | Moldova, Republic of | 58.0% |
| 23 | New Zealand | 58.0% |
| 24 | Nicaragua | 58.0% |
| 25 | Poland | 58.0% |
| 26 | Slovakia | 58.0% |
| 27 | Slovenia | 58.0% |
| 28 | Eswatini | 58.0% |
| 29 | Brazil | 57.4% |
| 30 | Albania | 57.1% |
| 31 | Canada | 57.0% |
| 32 | Denmark | 57.0% |
| 33 | Lesotho | 57.0% |
| 34 | Qatar | 57.0% |
| 35 | Russian Federation | 57.0% |
| 36 | Serbia | 57.0% |
| 37 | South Africa | 57.0% |
| 38 | United Kingdom | 57.0% |
| 39 | United States of America | 57.0% |
| 40 | Australia | 57.0% |
| 41 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 56.6% |
| 42 | Finland | 56.5% |
| 43 | Belgium | 56.5% |
| 44 | Argentina | 56.2% |
| 45 | Czech Republic | 56.0% |
| 46 | France | 56.0% |
| 47 | Georgia | 56.0% |
| 48 | Guatemala | 56.0% |
| 49 | Guyana | 56.0% |
| 50 | Ireland | 56.0% |
| 51 | Italy | 56.0% |
| 52 | Malaysia | 56.0% |
| 53 | Malta | 56.0% |
| 54 | Mauritius | 56.0% |
| 55 | Panama | 56.0% |
| 56 | Philippines | 56.0% |
| 57 | Puerto Rico | 56.0% |
| 58 | United Arab Emirates | 56.0% |
| 59 | Ukraine | 56.0% |
| 60 | The Republic of North Macedonia | 56.0% |
| 61 | Croatia | 55.7% |
| 62 | Benin | 55.5% |
| 63 | Austria | 55.2% |
| 64 | Costa Rica | 55.0% |
| 65 | El Salvador | 55.0% |
| 66 | Honduras | 55.0% |
| 67 | Kazakhstan | 55.0% |
| 68 | Spain | 55.0% |
| 69 | Thailand | 55.0% |
| 70 | Venezuela | 55.0% |
| 71 | Botswana | 54.2% |
| 72 | Myanmar | 54.1% |
| 73 | Armenia | 54.1% |
| 74 | Colombia | 54.0% |
| 75 | Hungary | 54.0% |
| 76 | Kyrgyzstan | 54.0% |
| 77 | Libya | 54.0% |
| 78 | Netherlands | 54.0% |
| 79 | Paraguay | 54.0% |
| 80 | Portugal | 54.0% |
| 81 | Greece | 53.0% |
| 82 | Lebanon | 53.0% |
| 83 | Chile | 52.0% |
| 84 | Jordan | 52.0% |
| 85 | Mexico | 52.0% |
| 86 | Nepal | 52.0% |
| 87 | Peru | 52.0% |
| 88 | Vietnam | 52.0% |
| 89 | Zimbabwe | 52.0% |
| 90 | Switzerland | 52.0% |
| 91 | Ecuador | 51.5% |
| 92 | People's Republic of China | 51.0% |
| 93 | Timor-Leste | 51.0% |
| 94 | Cyprus | 50.5% |
| 95 | Indonesia | 50.0% |
| 96 | Lao People's Democratic Republic | 50.0% |
| 97 | Luxembourg | 50.0% |
| 98 | Bulgaria | 49.9% |
| 99 | Bolivia | 49.1% |
| 100 | Germany | 49.0% |
| 101 | Islamic Republic of Iran | 49.0% |
| 102 | Kenya | 49.0% |
| 103 | Morocco | 49.0% |
| 104 | New Caledonia | 49.0% |
| 105 | Sudan | 49.0% |
| 106 | Türkiye | 49.0% |
| 107 | Egypt | 49.0% |
| 108 | Afghanistan | 48.9% |
| 109 | Algeria | 48.5% |
| 110 | Cambodia | 48.1% |
| 111 | India | 48.0% |
| 112 | Madagascar | 48.0% |
| 113 | Saudi Arabia | 48.0% |
| 114 | Syrian Arab Republic | 48.0% |
| 115 | Pakistan | 47.0% |
| 116 | Iraq | 46.0% |
| 117 | Uganda | 46.0% |
| 118 | Fiji | 45.0% |
| 119 | Gabon | 45.0% |
| 120 | Japan | 45.0% |
| 121 | Vanuatu | 45.0% |
| 122 | Papua New Guinea | 45.0% |
| 123 | Rwanda | 45.0% |
| 124 | Uzbekistan | 45.0% |
| 125 | Barbados | 45.0% |
| 126 | Angola | 44.2% |
| 127 | South Korea | 44.0% |
| 128 | Mozambique | 44.0% |
| 129 | Nigeria | 44.0% |
| 130 | Brunei Darussalam | 44.0% |
| 131 | United Republic of Tanzania | 43.0% |
| 132 | Republic of the Congo | 42.0% |
| 133 | Bangladesh | 42.0% |
| 134 | Cameroon | 41.0% |
| 135 | Equatorial Guinea | 41.0% |
| 136 | Burundi | 40.2% |
| 137 | Central African Republic | 40.0% |
| 138 | Malawi | 40.0% |
| 139 | Zambia | 40.0% |
| 140 | Ghana | 39.0% |
| 141 | Eritrea | 38.0% |
| 142 | Tajikistan | 38.0% |
| 143 | Cote d'Ivoire | 37.0% |
| 144 | Djibouti | 36.0% |
| 145 | Ethiopia | 34.0% |
| 146 | Burkina Faso | 34.0% |
| 147 | Yemen | 34.0% |
| 148 | Guinea | 33.0% |
| 149 | Somalia | 33.0% |
| 150 | Niger | 32.0% |
| 151 | Senegal | 32.0% |
| 152 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | 31.0% |
| 153 | Mauritania | 31.0% |
| 154 | Republic of The Gambia | 30.0% |
| 155 | Liberia | 30.0% |
| 156 | Mali | 30.0% |
| 157 | Togo | 30.0% |
| 158 | Chad | 28.0% |
| 159 | Sierra Leone | 27.0% |
| 160 | Guinea-Bissau | 26.0% |
| 161 | South Sudan | 22.0% |
| 162 | Cape Verde | 12.0% |
Topics
Data Source
This data comes from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) via World Bank WDI (2022).
View Original Source