Education worldwide - statistics & facts

Choose a region:
There has been a significant increase in worldwide access to education in recent years. Around 655 million children were enrolled in primary school in 2000, the and nearly 770 million in 2023. However, the higher the education level, the fewer people worldwide had access to it. For instance, among the OECD countries, less than 41 percent of their population had attained a tertiary education level.

Regional differences in higher education

Even where students have access to educational facilities, there are differences in the education quality students receive. This is especially visible in higher education. As of 2023, India has more universities than any other country worldwide while having no university at the top of academic rankings. The United States, on the other hand, has a much lower number of universities but is home to over half of the best 25 academic universities worldwide. Additionally, only three of the top-ranked universities in the world were neither in the United States nor Western Europe. No university from South America or Africa made it to the best-ranked universities. Furthermore, public expenditure on higher education varies significantly from country to country: while the United States and United Kingdom governments spend more than two percent of their gross domestic product (GDP) on higher education, the figure was only 0.4 percent in Luxembourg.

The impact of COVID-19

Inequalities in education have further intensified by the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis. School closures kept about 90 percent of all students out of school at some point during the pandemic. These school closures further exacerbated gender differences as young girls were forced to do more housework while they were out of school, and many continued staying at home when schools opened again. Worldwide, nearly one-third of young women were neither in education, employment, nor training compared to around 16 percent of young men.

Reducing the literacy gap

While universal access to education is declared in the UN Declaration of Human Rights, it varies greatly across the world. While only 1.3 percent of the adult population in Europe and Central Asia were illiterate, this proportion nearly reached one-third in Sub-Saharan Africa. Adult men are on average more literate than women reflecting the unequal access to education based on gender. However, the literacy gender gap has shrunk among the world’s younger generations in recent years.
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.
Published by S. Galan, Apr 2, 2025

Key insights

Share of people from OECD countries with tertiary education
40.7%
Global adult male literacy rate
90.61%
Global youth female literacy rate
91.67%
Get more insights

Editor’s Picks
Editor’s Picks
Current statistics on this topic

Educational attainment worldwide in 2020, by gender and level

Education Level & Skills

Educational attainment worldwide 2020, by gender and level

Share of people with tertiary education in OECD and affiliated countries in 2022, by country

Educational Institutions & Market

Share of people with tertiary education in OECD countries 2022, by country

The illiteracy rate among all adults (over 15-year-old) in 2023, by world region

Education Level & Skills

Illiteracy rates by world region 2023

Recommended statistics

Overview

7

Overview

Primary education

4

Primary education

Secondary education

5

Secondary education

Higher education

7

Higher education

Literacy rates

4

Literacy rates

Impact of COVID-19

7

Impact of COVID-19

Further reports

Get the best reports to understand your industry

Education in China
Education in China
Contact

Get in touch with us. We are happy to help.

Meredith Alda
Sales Manager– Contact (United States)
Email
support@statista.com
Tel
+1 914 619-5895

Mon - Fri, 9am - 6pm (EST)

Yolanda Mega
Operations Manager– Contact (Asia)
Email
Tel
+65 6995 6959

Mon - Fri, 9am - 5pm (SGT)

Ayana Mizuno
Business Development Manager– Contact (Asia)
Email

Mon - Fri, 10:00am - 6:00pm (JST)

Lodovica Biagi
Director of Operations– Contact (Europe)
Email
Tel
+44 (0)20 8189 7000

Mon - Fri, 9:30am - 5pm (GMT)

Carolina Dulin
Group Director - LATAM– Contact (Latin America)
Email
Tel
+1 212 419-5774

Mon - Fri, 9am - 6pm (EST)