Students enrolled in tertiary education by education level, programme orientation, sex and age by country
Countries reporting
36
Highest
3.27 million
Germany
Lowest
968
Liechtenstein
Median
300,658
Years covered
13
2012–2024
Data points
447
What the numbers show
Students enrolled in tertiary education by education level, programme orientation, sex and age is currently reported for 36 countries. The highest value is 3.27 million in Germany; the lowest is 968 in Liechtenstein.
The median across all reporting countries is 300,658, and the mean is 632,379.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 3,380.
Over the past decade 21 countries rose and 15 fell. The largest increase was in Malta (up 76.7%), and the largest decrease in Lithuania (down 32.1%).
Students enrolled in tertiary education by education level, programme: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Germany | 3.27 million | 2024 | up 12.4% | rising |
| 2 | France | 2.88 million | 2024 | up 20.5% | rising |
| 3 | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | 2.62 million | 2019 | up 9.7% | rising |
| 4 | Spain | 2.44 million | 2024 | up 23.3% | rising |
| 5 | Italy | 2.31 million | 2024 | up 24.7% | rising |
| 6 | Poland | 1.40 million | 2024 | down 20.7% | falling |
| 7 | Netherlands | 969,491 | 2024 | up 38.1% | rising |
| 8 | Greece | 885,486 | 2024 | up 22.0% | rising |
| 9 | Belgium | 551,141 | 2024 | up 11.1% | rising |
| 10 | Romania | 544,623 | 2024 | down 5.9% | falling |
| 11 | Sweden | 494,296 | 2024 | up 15.1% | rising |
| 12 | Austria | 442,235 | 2024 | up 5.0% | flat |
| 13 | Portugal | 430,226 | 2024 | up 22.7% | rising |
| 14 | Czechia | 343,827 | 2024 | down 17.9% | falling |
| 15 | Finland | 338,808 | 2024 | up 10.7% | rising |
| 16 | Switzerland | 337,303 | 2024 | up 16.4% | rising |
| 17 | Norway | 315,674 | 2024 | up 19.5% | rising |
| 18 | Hungary | 310,414 | 2024 | down 5.8% | falling |
| 19 | Denmark | 290,902 | 2024 | down 3.5% | flat |
| 20 | Ireland | 283,845 | 2024 | up 39.2% | rising |
| 21 | Serbia | 249,768 | 2024 | up 2.8% | flat |
| 22 | Bulgaria | 195,697 | 2024 | down 30.9% | falling |
| 23 | Croatia | 155,387 | 2024 | down 6.4% | flat |
| 24 | Slovakia | 141,119 | 2024 | down 28.7% | falling |
| 25 | Lithuania | 100,745 | 2024 | down 32.1% | falling |
| 26 | Slovenia | 80,648 | 2024 | down 13.1% | falling |
| 27 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 75,016 | 2024 | down 21.2% | falling |
| 28 | Latvia | 74,017 | 2024 | down 17.5% | falling |
| 29 | Cyprus | 57,889 | 2024 | up 71.9% | rising |
| 30 | North Macedonia | 56,761 | 2024 | down 6.3% | falling |
| 31 | Estonia | 44,377 | 2024 | down 26.0% | falling |
| 32 | Malta | 22,276 | 2024 | up 76.7% | rising |
| 33 | Iceland | 20,884 | 2024 | up 4.9% | rising |
| 34 | Montenegro | 20,229 | 2024 | down 17.9% | falling |
| 35 | Luxembourg | 8,364 | 2024 | up 23.2% | rising |
| 36 | Liechtenstein | 968 | 2022 | up 14.6% | rising |
Regions and income groups
Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.
- Türkiye 7.08 million