Students enrolled in tertiary education by education level, programme orientation, sex and NUTS 2 region by country
Countries reporting
38
Highest
3.27 million
Germany
Lowest
968
Liechtenstein
Median
270,335
Years covered
12
2013–2024
Data points
4,170
What the numbers show
Students enrolled in tertiary education by education level, programme orientation, sex and NUTS 2 region is currently reported for 38 countries. The highest value is 3.27 million in Germany; the lowest is 968 in Liechtenstein.
The median across all reporting countries is 270,335, and the mean is 596,666.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 3,380.
Over the past decade 23 countries rose and 15 fell. The largest increase was in Mayotte (up 177.5%), 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 27.5% | rising |
| 2 | France | 2.88 million | 2024 | up 20.5% | rising |
| 3 | United Kingdom | 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 30.7% | rising |
| 9 | Belgium | 551,103 | 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% | falling |
| 16 | Switzerland | 337,303 | 2024 | up 16.5% | rising |
| 17 | Norway | 315,674 | 2024 | up 19.5% | falling |
| 18 | Hungary | 310,414 | 2024 | down 5.8% | falling |
| 19 | Denmark | 290,902 | 2024 | down 3.5% | flat |
| 20 | Serbia | 249,768 | 2024 | down 2.5% | flat |
| 21 | Ireland | 244,191 | 2024 | up 19.8% | rising |
| 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 | 100,744 | 2024 | down 32.1% | falling |
| 26 | Slovenia | 80,648 | 2024 | down 13.1% | falling |
| 27 | Latvia | 74,017 | 2024 | down 17.5% | falling |
| 28 | Cyprus | 57,889 | 2024 | up 71.9% | rising |
| 29 | North Macedonia | 56,761 | 2024 | down 6.3% | falling |
| 30 | Estonia | 44,377 | 2024 | down 26.0% | falling |
| 31 | Malta | 22,276 | 2024 | up 76.7% | rising |
| 32 | Iceland | 20,287 | 2023 | up 1.9% | rising |
| 33 | Montenegro | 20,229 | 2024 | down 15.1% | falling |
| 34 | Guadeloupe | 10,881 | 2024 | up 16.4% | rising |
| 35 | Martinique | 8,873 | 2024 | up 7.8% | flat |
| 36 | Luxembourg | 8,364 | 2024 | up 21.3% | rising |
| 37 | Mayotte | 3,214 | 2024 | up 177.5% | rising |
| 38 | Liechtenstein | 968 | 2022 | up 14.6% | rising |