Tertiary education, academic staff in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia: Tertiary education, academic staff was 48.1% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Tertiary education, academic staff in Saudi Arabia, 1971–2024
Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in % female.
Analysis
The most recent figure for tertiary education, academic staff in Saudi Arabia is 48.1%, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 48 years on record.
That represents a change of up 12.2% on the previous year and up 18.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, tertiary education, academic staff in Saudi Arabia peaked at 48.1% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 6.5%, in 1971.
That places Saudi Arabia 63rd out of 170 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 48 years of available data.
Tertiary education, academic staff in Saudi Arabia, year by year
| Year | % female | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 6.5% | — |
| 1972 | 7.1% | +9.6% |
| 1973 | 8.6% | +21.0% |
| 1974 | 11.0% | +28.5% |
| 1975 | 13.5% | +22.5% |
| 1976 | 15.2% | +13.1% |
| 1977 | 15.6% | +2.2% |
| 1978 | 14.4% | -7.4% |
| 1979 | 18.0% | +24.8% |
| 1980 | 19.8% | +9.7% |
| 1981 | 19.1% | -3.5% |
| 1982 | 21.0% | +10.4% |
| 1983 | 23.6% | +12.0% |
| 1984 | 24.4% | +3.7% |
| 1985 | 25.0% | +2.4% |
| 1986 | 25.0% | -0.0% |
| 1987 | 31.8% | +27.3% |
| 1991 | 25.1% | -21.1% |
| 1992 | 26.1% | +3.9% |
| 1993 | 26.6% | +1.9% |
| 1996 | 29.9% | +12.4% |
| 1997 | 29.5% | -1.2% |
| 1998 | 32.5% | +10.1% |
| 1999 | 36.2% | +11.1% |
| 2000 | 35.0% | -3.1% |
| 2001 | 34.8% | -0.6% |
| 2002 | 33.9% | -2.7% |
| 2003 | 33.6% | -0.8% |
| 2004 | 33.6% | -0.2% |
| 2005 | 33.1% | -1.3% |
| 2006 | 33.0% | -0.2% |
| 2007 | 34.7% | +5.0% |
| 2008 | 34.7% | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 34.7% | -0.0% |
| 2010 | 36.5% | +5.3% |
| 2011 | 38.0% | +4.1% |
| 2012 | 37.0% | -2.8% |
| 2013 | 38.9% | +5.4% |
| 2014 | 40.5% | +4.0% |
| 2015 | 40.1% | -0.9% |
| 2016 | 41.0% | +2.3% |
| 2017 | 40.8% | -0.5% |
| 2018 | 40.8% | -0.1% |
| 2019 | 41.9% | +2.8% |
| 2020 | 41.5% | -1.0% |
| 2021 | 42.7% | +2.9% |
| 2022 | 42.8% | +0.3% |
| 2024 | 48.1% | +12.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 12.2% | 6.5% | 18.0% | 9 |
| 1980s | 23.7% | 19.1% | 31.8% | 8 |
| 1990s | 29.4% | 25.1% | 36.2% | 7 |
| 2000s | 34.1% | 33.0% | 35.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 39.6% | 36.5% | 41.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 43.8% | 41.5% | 48.1% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Saudi Arabia
More education data for Saudi Arabia
- Theoretical duration of upper secondary education (years), annual 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of secondary education (years), annual growth 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), gaps filled 2,023 tertiary education (2024)
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), annual growth 0.0495 % change on previous year (2022)
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 244,652 (2024)
- Duration of pre primary education, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Duration of pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 73.3% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 23.6% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is tertiary education, academic staff in Saudi Arabia?
- Tertiary education, academic staff in Saudi Arabia was 48.1% in 2024, according to Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
- What is the highest tertiary education, academic staff recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The highest recorded value was 48.1% in 2024.
- What is the lowest tertiary education, academic staff recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.5% in 1971.
- How does Saudi Arabia rank for tertiary education, academic staff?
- Saudi Arabia ranks 63rd out of 170 countries with data for 2024.
- Is tertiary education, academic staff rising or falling in Saudi Arabia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 18.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Saudi Arabia 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.
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About this data
Tertiary education, academic staff (% female) is the share of female academic staff in tertiary education.