Tertiary education, academic staff (% female) in India
India: Tertiary education, academic staff (% female) was 44.3% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Tertiary education, academic staff in India, 1972–2023
Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in % female.
Analysis
In 2023, tertiary education, academic staff in India stood at 44.3%. That is the highest value across all 28 years on record.
The figure is up 1.9% on the previous year and up 13.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, tertiary education, academic staff in India peaked at 44.3% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 15.8%, in 1972.
India ranks 84th of 170 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 28 years of available data.
Tertiary education, academic staff (% female) in India, year by year
| Year | % female | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 15.8% | — |
| 1973 | 15.9% | +0.9% |
| 1975 | 16.3% | +2.5% |
| 1976 | 16.7% | +2.1% |
| 1977 | 17.2% | +3.6% |
| 1978 | 17.6% | +2.0% |
| 1979 | 18.3% | +4.0% |
| 1980 | 18.2% | -0.5% |
| 1984 | 19.5% | +7.1% |
| 1985 | 20.6% | +5.5% |
| 1986 | 21.0% | +1.9% |
| 1987 | 21.1% | +0.5% |
| 2000 | 37.0% | +75.4% |
| 2001 | 37.0% | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 36.9% | -0.1% |
| 2003 | 37.0% | +0.2% |
| 2004 | 40.0% | +8.0% |
| 2013 | 39.0% | -2.4% |
| 2014 | 39.0% | -0.0% |
| 2015 | 38.6% | -1.1% |
| 2016 | 39.1% | +1.2% |
| 2017 | 40.6% | +3.8% |
| 2018 | 41.6% | +2.4% |
| 2019 | 42.2% | +1.4% |
| 2020 | 42.5% | +0.8% |
| 2021 | 42.9% | +0.9% |
| 2022 | 43.5% | +1.4% |
| 2023 | 44.3% | +1.9% |
India compared with similar countries
- India's 44.3% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 35.4%, 1.3× the median. (37 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Tertiary education, academic staff (% female) in India 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | +75.4% | 21.1% | 37.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 16.8% | 15.8% | 18.3% | 7 |
| 1980s | 20.1% | 18.2% | 21.1% | 5 |
| 2000s | 37.6% | 36.9% | 40.0% | 5 |
| 2010s | 40.0% | 38.6% | 42.2% | 7 |
| 2020s | 43.3% | 42.5% | 44.3% | 4 |
Countries ranked near India
More education data for India
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 98.38 (2023)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 99.88 (2025)
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 7.31 million (2025)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 3.10 million (2025)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 19.37 million (2025)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 18.52 million (2025)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 133.16 million (2025)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 126.12 million (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -8.85 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is tertiary education, academic staff in India?
- Tertiary education, academic staff in India was 44.3% in 2023, according to Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
- What is the highest tertiary education, academic staff recorded in India?
- The highest recorded value was 44.3% in 2023.
- What is the lowest tertiary education, academic staff recorded in India?
- The lowest recorded value was 15.8% in 1972.
- How does India rank for tertiary education, academic staff?
- India ranks 84th out of 170 countries with data for 2023.
- Is tertiary education, academic staff rising or falling in India?
- Over the last ten years it is up 13.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this India data come from?
- The figures come from Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), published as part of Tertiary education, academic staff (% female). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 28 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Tertiary education, academic staff (% female) is the share of female academic staff in tertiary education.