UNESCO has released its inaugural Higher Education Global Trends Report, which examines the state of higher education using data from 146 countries. The report notes that enrolment in higher education has more than doubled in the past 20 years, reaching 269,000,000 learners in 2024. Despite this, the report notes large regional disparities: 80% of young people in Western Europe and North America had enrolled in higher education, compared to 9% in sub-Saharan Africa. The number of students attending higher education abroad had also tripled in the past 20 years and Canada was one of seven countries that, combined, hosted half of all international students. Though women outnumber men below the doctoral level, the report concludes that access for other under-represented groups remains a problem.
