Percentage of enrolment in tertiary education in public institutions in Nepal
Nepal: Percentage of enrolment in tertiary education in public institutions was 58.6% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Percentage of enrolment in tertiary education in public institutions in Nepal, 2000–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Nepal recorded 58.6% for percentage of enrolment in tertiary education in public institutions in 2024. That is the highest value across all 19 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.6% on the previous year and up 55.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, percentage of enrolment in tertiary education in public institutions in Nepal peaked at 58.6% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 20.2%, in 2002.
Nepal ranks 49th of 149 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 19 years of available data.
Percentage of enrolment in tertiary education in public institutions in Nepal, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 23.9% | — |
| 2002 | 20.2% | -15.7% |
| 2003 | 24.7% | +22.8% |
| 2005 | 30.8% | +24.4% |
| 2006 | 32.4% | +5.3% |
| 2008 | 32.6% | +0.6% |
| 2009 | 32.4% | -0.6% |
| 2010 | 31.7% | -2.3% |
| 2011 | 31.4% | -0.9% |
| 2013 | 37.6% | +19.9% |
| 2016 | 53.2% | +41.4% |
| 2017 | 54.7% | +2.9% |
| 2018 | 55.5% | +1.5% |
| 2019 | 54.6% | -1.8% |
| 2020 | 53.1% | -2.6% |
| 2021 | 54.6% | +2.8% |
| 2022 | 53.5% | -2.0% |
| 2023 | 57.1% | +6.6% |
| 2024 | 58.6% | +2.6% |
Nepal compared with similar countries
- Nepal's 58.6% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 50.3%, 1.2× the median. (33 countries reporting)
- Nepal's 58.6% is above the median for South Asia, which is 50.8%, 1.2× the median. (5 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Percentage of enrolment in tertiary education in public institutions in Nepal changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | +41.4% | 37.6% | 53.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 28.1% | 20.2% | 32.6% | 7 |
| 2010s | 45.5% | 31.4% | 55.5% | 7 |
| 2020s | 55.4% | 53.1% | 58.6% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Nepal
More education data for Nepal
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 124,257 (2025)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 263,796 (2025)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 752,326 (2025)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 609,324 (2025)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 3.67 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 3.57 million (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 1.31 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1204 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is percentage of enrolment in tertiary education in public institutions in Nepal?
- Percentage of enrolment in tertiary education in public institutions in Nepal was 58.6% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest percentage of enrolment in tertiary education in public institutions recorded in Nepal?
- The highest recorded value was 58.6% in 2024.
- What is the lowest percentage of enrolment in tertiary education in public institutions recorded in Nepal?
- The lowest recorded value was 20.2% in 2002.
- How does Nepal rank for percentage of enrolment in tertiary education in public institutions?
- Nepal ranks 49th out of 149 countries with data for 2024.
- Is percentage of enrolment in tertiary education in public institutions rising or falling in Nepal?
- Over the last ten years it is up 55.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Nepal data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Percentage of enrolment in tertiary education in public institutions, female (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 19 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release