Statizoid

Enrolment in tertiary education, ISCED 8 programmes, both sexes (number) by country

Total number of students enrolled in public and private tertiary education institutions in programmes on the doctoral or equivalent (ISCED 8) level.

Countries reporting
132
Highest
410,153 number
China
Lowest
6 number
Lesotho
Median
4,444 number
Years covered
24
1997–2020
Data points
2,921

What the numbers show

Enrolment in tertiary education, ISCED 8 programmes, both sexes (number) is currently reported for 132 countries. The highest value is 410,153 number in China; the lowest is 6 number in Lesotho.

The median across all reporting countries is 4,444 number, and the mean is 23,254 number.

The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 68,359.

Over the past decade 96 countries rose and 23 fell. The largest increase was in Palestine (up 24,400.0%), and the largest decrease in Dominican Republic (down 97.8%).

Enrolment in tertiary education, ISCED 8 … Enrolment 8 both sexes: full country ranking

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 China 410,153 number 2019 up 41.0% rising
2 United States 354,198 number 2018 — falling
3 Germany 200,400 number 2018 unchanged flat
4 India 173,050 number 2019 up 77.3% rising
5 Iran 141,078 number 2018 up 418.9% volatile
6 Brazil 115,028 number 2018 up 118.1% rising
7 United Kingdom 111,257 number 2018 up 37.5% rising
8 Turkey 95,100 number 2018 up 171.2% volatile
9 Russia 94,582 number 2018 down 37.7% flat
10 Spain 85,480 number 2018 up 27.6% falling
11 Japan 80,767 number 2018 up 7.7% rising
12 South Korea 74,750 number 2018 up 51.3% rising
13 France 66,096 number 2018 down 5.6% falling
14 Australia 56,110 number 2018 up 32.3% rising
15 Canada 53,455 number 2018 up 29.6% rising
16 Egypt 45,032 number 2017 up 66.9% rising
17 Malaysia 44,516 number 2019 up 163.3% volatile
18 Mexico 43,744 number 2018 up 162.0% volatile
19 Indonesia 43,126 number 2018 down 38.9% falling
20 Poland 41,318 number 2018 up 29.9% rising
21 Morocco 36,653 number 2019 — rising
22 Greece 29,221 number 2018 up 34.7% rising
23 Italy 28,338 number 2018 down 28.0% rising
24 Argentina 26,098 number 2017 up 128.7% volatile
25 Switzerland 25,209 number 2018 up 38.9% rising
26 Ukraine 24,751 number 2019 down 28.9% rising
27 Thailand 24,742 number 2016 up 115.9% volatile
28 Philippines 23,827 number 2017 up 166.6% rising
29 South Africa 23,730 number 2018 up 69.3% rising
30 Czechia 22,457 number 2018 down 7.7% rising
31 Pakistan 22,147 number 2018 up 79.6% rising
32 Austria 20,396 number 2018 down 20.5% flat
33 Portugal 20,239 number 2018 up 26.7% rising
34 Romania 19,756 number 2018 down 30.9% volatile
35 Sweden 19,682 number 2018 down 2.0% flat
36 Finland 18,621 number 2018 down 13.6% flat
37 Belgium 17,339 number 2018 up 77.3% rising
38 Netherlands 15,650 number 2018 up 110.5% rising
39 Vietnam 14,686 number 2018 up 213.6% rising
40 Bangladesh 13,213 number 2018 up 98.9% volatile
41 Tunisia 11,629 number 2019 up 18.9% rising
42 Israel 11,571 number 2018 up 13.9% rising
43 Serbia 11,407 number 2019 up 290.1% volatile
44 Hong Kong 10,697 number 2019 up 49.5% rising
45 Saudi Arabia 10,541 number 2019 up 349.9% volatile
46 Nigeria 10,383 number 2011 — rising
47 Kenya 10,215 number 2019 up 43.4% volatile
48 New Zealand 9,854 number 2018 up 16.5% rising
49 Denmark 9,437 number 2018 up 55.4% rising
50 Peru 8,896 number 2017 — volatile
51 Ireland 8,517 number 2018 up 40.4% rising
52 Norway 8,497 number 2018 up 36.7% rising
53 Libya 8,367 number 2003 — falling
54 Senegal 8,296 number 2019 up 197.8% volatile
55 Hungary 7,676 number 2018 up 7.3% rising
56 Cameroon 7,258 number 2018 up 1,039.4% volatile
57 Cote d'Ivoire 7,190 number 2017 up 205.7% volatile
58 Slovakia 6,991 number 2018 down 34.5% rising
59 Bulgaria 6,564 number 2018 up 50.8% rising
60 Colombia 6,225 number 2018 up 306.3% volatile
61 Chile 5,789 number 2018 up 59.5% rising
62 Belarus 5,652 number 2018 up 21.8% rising
63 Kazakhstan 5,609 number 2019 up 293.1% falling
64 Jordan 5,048 number 2018 up 106.3% volatile
65 Sri Lanka 4,684 number 2019 up 70.7% volatile
66 Cuba 4,592 number 2018 down 15.6% rising
67 Mongolia 4,295 number 2018 up 101.3% rising
68 Lebanon 4,230 number 2019 up 209.7% volatile
69 Croatia 3,584 number 2018 up 17.4% volatile
70 Georgia 3,512 number 2019 up 121.2% rising
71 Slovenia 2,824 number 2018 up 78.5% volatile
72 Costa Rica 2,805 number 2019 up 448.9% volatile
73 Myanmar 2,785 number 2018 down 26.1% volatile
74 Lithuania 2,743 number 2018 down 3.9% rising
75 Singapore 2,678 number 2018 down 55.8% falling
76 Kyrgyzstan 2,636 number 2019 up 13.1% rising
77 Azerbaijan 2,626 number 2019 up 51.9% rising
78 Macao 2,562 number 2019 up 341.7% volatile
79 Estonia 2,464 number 2018 up 3.5% rising
80 Ghana 2,373 number 2019 up 480.2% volatile
81 Latvia 2,196 number 2018 up 10.8% rising
82 Moldova 2,073 number 2019 up 11.6% rising
83 Benin 2,060 number 2018 up 52.9% volatile
84 Tanzania 2,014 number 2019 up 1,084.7% volatile
85 Ethiopia 1,983 number 2014 up 6,982.1% volatile
86 Nepal 1,891 number 2019 up 432.7% volatile
87 Albania 1,865 number 2019 down 10.9% volatile
88 Tajikistan 1,803 number 2017 up 67.7% rising
89 Uzbekistan 1,764 number 2019 down 38.5% falling
90 Niger 1,713 number 2019 up 450.8% volatile
91 Togo 1,652 number 2018 — volatile
92 Syria 1,584 number 2016 up 153.8% volatile
93 United Arab Emirates 1,478 number 2017 — volatile
94 Cyprus 1,472 number 2018 up 304.4% volatile
95 Burkina Faso 1,382 number 2019 up 85.8% volatile
96 Cambodia 1,349 number 2018 up 56.5% volatile
97 Trinidad and Tobago 1,012 number 2018 — volatile
98 Armenia 985 number 2019 down 29.2% flat
99 Bosnia and Herzegovina 981 number 2019 up 80.0% rising
100 Congo 821 number 2017 up 111.1% volatile
101 Madagascar 756 number 2018 down 67.8% falling
102 Luxembourg 693 number 2018 up 272.6% volatile
103 Iceland 637 number 2018 up 141.3% volatile
104 Mozambique 613 number 2018 up 1,513.2% volatile
105 Honduras 492 number 2017 up 1,071.4% volatile
106 Qatar 447 number 2019 up 8,840.0% volatile
107 North Macedonia 402 number 2018 up 152.8% volatile
108 Brunei 356 number 2019 up 1,447.8% volatile
109 Mauritius 351 number 2017 up 31.0% rising
110 Mali 338 number 2015 up 213.0% rising
111 Ecuador 315 number 2016 — rising
112 Burundi 307 number 2018 up 344.9% volatile
113 Bahrain 268 number 2019 up 5,260.0% volatile
114 Palestine 245 number 2019 up 24,400.0% volatile
115 Namibia 187 number 2017 up 750.0% volatile
116 Oman 177 number 2019 up 3,440.0% volatile
117 Liechtenstein 161 number 2018 up 203.8% volatile
118 Malawi 154 number 2010 — volatile
119 Malta 147 number 2018 up 119.4% volatile
120 Barbados 133 number 2011 down 70.4% volatile
121 Botswana 123 number 2019 up 136.5% rising
122 Panama 107 number 2016 down 4.5% volatile
123 Kuwait 77 number 2019 down 90.5% volatile
124 El Salvador 63 number 2018 up 117.2% volatile
125 Cape Verde 62 number 2018 up 675.0% volatile
126 Rwanda 51 number 2019 up 325.0% volatile
127 Dominican Republic 36 number 2017 down 97.8% volatile
128 Monaco 33 number 2020 — rising
129 Andorra 23.5 number 2019 up 56.7% rising
130 Laos 19 number 2019 — volatile
131 Grenada 10 number 2018 up 150.0% rising
132 Lesotho 6 number 2018 up 20.0% volatile

Regions and income groups

Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.

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Enrolment in tertiary education, ISCED 8 programmes, both sexes by country. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 13 November 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/enrolment-in-tertiary-education-isced-8-programmes-both-sexes-number/

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About this data

Indicator
Enrolment in tertiary education, ISCED 8 programmes, both sexes (number)
Unit
number
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
178 places, 2,921 data points, 1997–2020
Last refreshed

Total number of students enrolled in public and private tertiary education institutions in programmes on the doctoral or equivalent (ISCED 8) level.