Tertiary Education Enrollment by Country 2026: Charts & Rankings
Country ranking based on the latest available gross tertiary enrollment ratio reported through the World Bank World Development Indicators and UNESCO Institute for Statistics. The 2026 page year is not a uniform data year; source years vary by country.
Enrollment Statistics
Snapshot values use the country rows in the ranking table and rounded source-display values from World Bank WDI where exact decimals were not exposed in the public table view.
Highest Reported Tertiary Enrollment Ratios
The chart summarizes the top reported country and economy values. The searchable table carries the wider country list and source-year notes.
Top reported gross tertiary enrollment ratios
Latest available World Bank / UIS values, rounded to one decimal where source excerpts provide decimals.
Values above 100% can occur in gross enrollment ratios because students outside the official age group are included in the numerator.
Chart analysis
- Macao SAR, China records the highest reported value in the chart at 141.9%.
- Hong Kong SAR, China is the only other charted economy above 100%.
- The top-to-15th spread is about 72.9 percentage points, from 141.9% to 69.0%.
- The chart mixes 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 source years; the ranking table records the year for each row.
Country Ranking Table
Ranking is by gross tertiary enrollment ratio, not by tertiary attainment, quality, completion, or student outcomes.
| Rank | Country / economy | GER | Year | Region | Source note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Macao SAR, China | 141.9% | 2024 | East Asia | WDI / UIS latest value |
| 2 | Hong Kong SAR, China | 120.1% | 2024 | East Asia | WDI / UIS latest value |
| 3 | Ukraine | 85.3% | 2024 | Europe | WDI / UIS latest value |
| 4 | Saudi Arabia | 83.9% | 2024 | Western Asia | WDI / UIS latest value |
| 5 | Albania | 82% | 2024 | Europe | World Bank public table display |
| 6 | Uruguay | 80% | 2023 | Latin America | World Bank public table display |
| 7 | United States | 79% | 2022 | Northern America | World Bank public table display |
| 8 | Germany | 79% | 2023 | Europe | World Bank public table display |
| 9 | Monaco | 77.5% | 2024 | Europe | WDI / UIS latest value |
| 10 | Iceland | 77% | 2023 | Europe | World Bank public table display |
| 11 | China | 76.9% | 2024 | East Asia | WDI / UIS latest value |
| 12 | Fiji | 75.0% | 2024 | Oceania | WDI / UIS latest value |
| 13 | Moldova | 74.7% | 2024 | Europe | WDI / UIS latest value |
| 14 | Belarus | 70.1% | 2024 | Europe | WDI / UIS latest value |
| 15 | Mongolia | 69.0% | 2024 | East Asia | WDI / UIS latest value |
| 16 | Ecuador | 68% | 2023 | Latin America | World Bank public table display |
| 17 | Andorra | 67.7% | 2024 | Europe | WDI / UIS latest value |
| 18 | Japan | 65% | 2023 | East Asia | World Bank public table display |
| 19 | United Arab Emirates | 63.7% | 2024 | Western Asia | WDI / UIS latest value |
| 20 | Russian Federation | 60.4% | 2024 | Europe / Central Asia | WDI / UIS latest value |
| 21 | Uzbekistan | 60% | 2025 | Central Asia | World Bank public table display |
| 22 | Bahrain | 58.4% | 2024 | Western Asia | WDI / UIS latest value |
| 23 | Dominican Republic | 57.7% | 2024 | Caribbean | WDI / UIS latest value |
| 24 | San Marino | 57.6% | 2024 | Europe | WDI / UIS latest value |
| 25 | Hungary | 57% | 2023 | Europe | World Bank public table display |
| 26 | Algeria | 54.4% | 2024 | Northern Africa | WDI / UIS latest value |
| 27 | Barbados | 53.6% | 2024 | Caribbean | WDI / UIS latest value |
| 28 | Kyrgyzstan | 53.2% | 2024 | Central Asia | WDI / UIS latest value |
| 29 | Kazakhstan | 53% | 2025 | Central Asia | World Bank public table display |
| 30 | Armenia | 52.8% | 2024 | Western Asia | WDI / UIS latest value |
| 31 | Morocco | 48.2% | 2024 | Northern Africa | WDI / UIS latest value |
| 32 | Philippines | 47.4% | 2024 | South-Eastern Asia | WDI / UIS latest value |
| 33 | Mauritius | 45.8% | 2024 | Sub-Saharan Africa | WDI / UIS latest value |
| 34 | Indonesia | 45% | 2023 | South-Eastern Asia | World Bank public table display |
| 35 | Thailand | 45.0% | 2024 | South-Eastern Asia | WDI / UIS latest value |
| 36 | Malaysia | 38.5% | 2024 | South-Eastern Asia | WDI / UIS latest value |
| 37 | Egypt, Arab Rep. | 38% | 2025 | Northern Africa | World Bank public table display |
| 38 | Jordan | 36% | 2024 | Western Asia | World Bank public table display |
| 39 | India | 34% | 2024 | Southern Asia | World Bank public table display |
| 40 | El Salvador | 33% | 2024 | Central America | World Bank public table display |
| 41 | South Africa | 30% | 2023 | Sub-Saharan Africa | World Bank public table display |
| 42 | Belize | 24.8% | 2024 | Central America | WDI / UIS latest value |
| 43 | Ghana | 22% | 2023 | Sub-Saharan Africa | World Bank public table display |
| 44 | Cambodia | 21.4% | 2024 | South-Eastern Asia | WDI / UIS latest value |
| 45 | Botswana | 21.4% | 2024 | Sub-Saharan Africa | WDI / UIS latest value |
| 46 | Turkmenistan | 21% | 2024 | Central Asia | World Bank public table display |
| 47 | Bhutan | 13.0% | 2024 | Southern Asia | WDI / UIS latest value |
| 48 | Cook Islands | 12.5% | 2024 | Oceania | WDI / UIS latest value |
| 49 | Afghanistan | 11% | 2020 | Southern Asia | World Bank public table display |
| 50 | Kenya | 10% | 2024 | Sub-Saharan Africa | World Bank public table display |
| 51 | Kiribati | 7% | 2024 | Oceania | World Bank public table display |
| 52 | Madagascar | 6% | 2023 | Sub-Saharan Africa | World Bank public table display |
| 53 | Vanuatu | 5% | 2004 | Oceania | Old latest source year |
| 54 | United Republic of Tanzania | 4.0% | 2024 | Sub-Saharan Africa | WDI / UIS latest value |
| 55 | Equatorial Guinea | 2% | 2000 | Sub-Saharan Africa | Old latest source year |
Table analysis
- The table ranks 55 countries and economies with source-visible WDI / UIS values.
- Macao SAR, China and Hong Kong SAR, China exceed 100%, which is possible under a gross enrollment measure.
- Uzbekistan, Egypt, and Kazakhstan have 2025 values in the World Bank public display, while many other rows use 2024, 2023, or 2022 values.
- Rows for Vanuatu and Equatorial Guinea have old latest source years, so they should not be read as current-year conditions.
- The ranking is sensitive to source-year coverage because countries do not all report in the same cycle.
Long-Run Tertiary Enrollment Trend
Global trend values are sourced from UNESCO higher education monitoring and World Bank / UIS summary reporting. Country rows remain the main data carrier for the ranking.
Global gross tertiary enrollment ratio, selected years
Reported global benchmark points, 2000 to 2024.
The global series is shown as selected benchmark points, not as an annual reconstruction.
Trend analysis
- The global gross tertiary enrollment ratio rose from about 19% in 2000 to about 40% in 2020.
- The 2024 benchmark in the chart is about 43%, roughly 24 percentage points above 2000.
- The line shows expansion in reported tertiary participation, not completion or attainment.
| Year | Global GER | Change vs 2000 | Source basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 19% | 0 pp | UNESCO higher education monitoring |
| 2010 | 29% | +10 pp | UNESCO / UIS benchmark series |
| 2015 | 35% | +16 pp | UNESCO / UIS benchmark series |
| 2020 | 40% | +21 pp | UNESCO higher education global data reporting |
| 2024 | 43% | +24 pp | World Bank / UIS global benchmark display |
Trend table analysis
- The selected global benchmark points show a steady upward direction from 2000 to 2024.
- The largest long-run movement in the table is the +24 percentage-point change between 2000 and 2024.
- The trend table uses global aggregates; it should not be used to infer any single country trajectory.
Interpretation Notes
Gross tertiary enrollment is a participation ratio. It is not a graduation, attainment, quality, or labor-market indicator.
Gross ratio can exceed 100%
The numerator includes all enrolled tertiary students, regardless of age. Cross-border study, delayed entry, re-entry, and adult enrollment can push values above the official age-group population.
Source years vary
Some rows use 2025 values while others use older latest reported years. The year column is part of the ranking and should be read with the value.
Ranking is indicator-specific
The order reflects gross tertiary enrollment ratio only. It does not rank education system quality, affordability, completion, learning, or graduate outcomes.
Administrative data basis
UIS data are collected mainly from official education reporting systems and mapped to ISCED definitions for international comparability.
Source and Methodology
The ranking excludes countries without a source-visible value in the compiled table. The table uses the latest reported value per country or economy, so comparisons combine different reporting years. The historical trend module uses published global benchmark points rather than a complete annual series.
Gross tertiary enrollment measures participation volume relative to an official age group. It can exceed 100%, can be affected by older students and international mobility, and should not be interpreted as a direct measure of completion, attainment, learning quality, or policy performance.