PARIS, May 12 (Xinhua) — The number of students enrolled in higher education worldwide has more than doubled over the past two decades, but major geographic and gender disparities still persist, according to UNESCO's first higher education global trends report published Tuesday.
The report, based on new data from 146 countries, projects global enrollment in higher education to rise from about 100 million in 2000 to 269 million in 2024.
However, this growth hides sharp regional disparities: in Western Europe and North America, 80 percent of youth are enrolled in higher education, compared to 9 percent in sub-Saharan Africa. Meanwhile, only 3 percent of students worldwide go abroad for higher education.
The report notes that women are underrepresented even at the doctoral level and hold only one-quarter of leadership positions in academia.
The lack of complete and verifiable documents proving eligibility also poses a major barrier to refugees' access to higher education, especially in countries in the Global South, the report said.
According to the report, to address this issue, UNESCO has introduced the Qualifications Passport, a tool designed to help recognize the educational, professional and vocational qualifications of refugees and forcibly displaced people.