Students enrolled in tertiary education by education level, programme orientation, sex, type of institution and intensity of participation by country
Countries reporting
36
Highest
3.27 million
Germany
Lowest
968
Liechtenstein, Principality of
Median
300,658
Years covered
13
2012β2024
Data points
444
What the numbers show
Students enrolled in tertiary education by education level, programme orientation, sex, type of institution and intensity of participation is currently reported for 36 countries. The highest value is 3.27 million in Germany; the lowest is 968 in Liechtenstein, Principality of.
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, Republic of (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 | 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, Republic of | 1.40 million | 2024 | down 20.7% | falling |
| 7 | Netherlands, The | 969,491 | 2024 | up 15.1% | rising |
| 8 | Greece | 885,486 | 2024 | up 30.7% | 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 | Czech Republic | 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, Republic of | 249,768 | 2024 | up 2.8% | flat |
| 22 | Bulgaria | 195,697 | 2024 | down 30.9% | falling |
| 23 | Croatia, Republic of | 155,387 | 2024 | down 6.4% | flat |
| 24 | Slovak Republic | 141,119 | 2024 | down 28.7% | falling |
| 25 | Lithuania, Republic of | 100,744 | 2024 | down 32.1% | falling |
| 26 | Slovenia, Republic of | 80,648 | 2024 | down 13.1% | falling |
| 27 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 75,016 | 2024 | down 21.2% | falling |
| 28 | Latvia, Republic of | 74,017 | 2024 | down 17.5% | falling |
| 29 | Cyprus | 57,889 | 2024 | up 71.9% | rising |
| 30 | North Macedonia, Republic of | 56,761 | 2024 | down 6.3% | falling |
| 31 | Estonia, Republic of | 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, Principality of | 968 | 2022 | up 14.6% | rising |