Share of all students in short-cycle tertiary education enrolled in in Japan

Japan: Share of all students in short-cycle tertiary education enrolled in was 16.0% in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)
16.0%
Change on year
down 1.5%
World rank
19th
of 83 countries
All-time high
20.9%
in 2014
All-time low
16.0%
in 2023
Years of data
9
2014–2023

Share of all students in short-cycle tertiary education enrolled in in Japan, 2014–2023

051015202014201820232014: 20.9 %2015: 20.6 %2017: 19.8 %2018: 19.3 %2019: 18.6 %2020: 17.7 %2021: 16.8 %2022: 16.2 %2023: 16 %

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.

Analysis

In 2023, share of all students in short-cycle tertiary education enrolled in in Japan stood at 16.0%. That is the lowest value across all 9 years on record.

That represents a change of down 1.5% on the previous year and down 23.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of all students in short-cycle tertiary education enrolled in in Japan peaked at 20.9% in 2014 and was at its lowest, 16.0%, in 2023.

That places Japan 19th out of 83 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.

Share of all students in short-cycle tertiary education enrolled in in Japan, year by year

Annual values for Share of all students in short-cycle tertiary education enrolled in general programmes, both sexes (%) in Japan, 2014 to 2023.
Year % Change
2014 20.9%
2015 20.6% -1.3%
2017 19.8% -4.0%
2018 19.3% -2.6%
2019 18.6% -3.5%
2020 17.7% -5.0%
2021 16.8% -4.6%
2022 16.2% -3.6%
2023 16.0% -1.5%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2010s 19.8% 18.6% 20.9% 5
2020s 16.7% 16.0% 17.7% 4

Countries ranked near Japan

  1. 16 Rwanda 32.7% compare
  2. 17 Australia 17.9% compare
  3. 18 Ghana 17.9% compare
  4. 20 Samoa 9.6% compare
  5. 21 New Zealand 9.1% compare
  6. 22 Sweden 6.7% compare

See the full ranking of 83 places →

More education data for Japan

All data for Japan →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of all students in short-cycle tertiary education enrolled in in Japan?
Share of all students in short-cycle tertiary education enrolled in in Japan was 16.0% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest share of all students in short-cycle tertiary education enrolled in recorded in Japan?
The highest recorded value was 20.9% in 2014.
What is the lowest share of all students in short-cycle tertiary education enrolled in recorded in Japan?
The lowest recorded value was 16.0% in 2023.
How does Japan rank for share of all students in short-cycle tertiary education enrolled in?
Japan ranks 19th out of 83 countries with data for 2023.
Is share of all students in short-cycle tertiary education enrolled in rising or falling in Japan?
Over the last ten years it is down 23.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Japan data come from?
The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Share of all students in short-cycle tertiary education enrolled in general programmes, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Share of all students in short-cycle tertiary education enrolled in in Japan. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 27 August 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/share-of-all-students-in-short-cycle-tertiary-education-enrolled-in-general-programmes/japan/

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About this data

Indicator
Share of all students in short-cycle tertiary education enrolled in general programmes, both sexes (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics)
Coverage
83 places, 625 data points, 2011–2024
Last refreshed

February 2026 Data Release