1. Tertiary
Education
The State of Education Series
March 2013
A Global Report

2. Tertiary Education: Indicators
This presentation includes data on:
 Gross Enrollment Rates (GER) for pre-
primary and tertiary
 Correlations between GDP per capita and
enrollment rates for each educational level
 Income/Gender/Location Disparities
 Expenditures on Tertiary Education

3. Acronym Guide
Acronym Name
EAP East Asia and Pacific
ECA Europe and Central Asia
LAC Latin American and the Caribbean
MNA Middle East and North Africa
SAS South Asia
SSA Sub-Saharan Africa
WLD World (Global Aggregate)
GER Gross Enrollment Rate
GDP p.c. Gross Domestic Product per capita
GNI Gross National Income
GAR Gross Attendance Rate
GPI
Gender Parity Index (female value/male
value)

4. Tertiary
Enrollments

5. How many youth are enrolled?
Tertiary – Gross Enrolment Rates (GER)
 Around 30% of tertiary age
youth were enrolled in
tertiary education 2010.
This figure was a 10
percentage point
improvement over 2000
(19%).
 ECA has consistently had
the highest tertiary GERs
of any region. Over half
(55.6%) of tertiary age
youth were enrolled in
2010 which is a 17
percentage point increase
over 2000.
 EAP has more than
doubled its tertiary GER
over time.
 SSA lags behind other
regions with 6.8% of youth
enrolled in 2010.
Almost ¾ of tertiary age youth around the world
are not enrolled in tertiary education.
19.1
21.5
23.5
24.9
27.0 29.2
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010
GrossEnrolmentRate.Tertiary.Total(%)
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics in EdStats, November 2012
EAP ECA LAC MNA SAS SSA WLD

6. Which countries have the lowest
tertiary enrollment rates?
 These countries have
less than 4% of tertiary
age students enrolled in
tertiary education.
 33 countries have less
than 10 percent of
tertiary age youth
enrolled.
 50 countries have more
than half of tertiary age
youth enrolled.
 8 countries have tertiary
GERs higher than 80%
and 4 countries have
tertiary GERs higher than
90%: Finland, the United
States, Cuba, and
Korea, Rep.
10 Countries with the Lowest
Tertiary Gross Enrollment Rates
(2008-2011)
1 Turks and Caicos Islands 0.08
2 Malawi 0.72
3 Niger 1.51
4 Eritrea 1.99
5 Tanzania 2.11
6 Chad 2.17
7 Central African Republic 2.57
8 Burundi 3.25
9 Afghanistan 3.33
10 Dominica 3.57
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics in EdStats, Nov. 2012
Notes: Figures are most recent year with data between 2008-2011. Purple =
2011; Black = 2010; Blue = 2009; Green = 2008.
Data were not available for 72 of 214 countries.

7. Which countries have improved
tertiary enrolment rates the most?
 These countries
have improved their
tertiary gross
enrolment rates by
27 to 70 percentage
points between
1999-2001 and
2009-2011.
 7 countries more
than doubled their
tertiary GER –
Cuba, Venezuela,
Cyprus,
Montenegro, Czech
Rep., Romania, and
Armenia.
 All of the countries
are in LAC or ECA.
10 Countries with the Most Improvement
in Tertiary Gross Enrollment Rates
Percentage
Points
Improved
1999-
2001
GER
2009-
2011
GER
%
Improved
1 Cuba 70.0 25.2 95.2 277.8
2 Venezuela, RB 49.8 28.3 78.1 175.6
3 Cyprus 33.0 21.6 54.6 152.8
4 Montenegro 31.1 16.6 47.6 187.9
5 Czech Republic 30.5 30.1 60.7 101.5
6 Romania 30.5 28.4 58.8 107.4
7 Uruguay 29.5 33.8 63.3 87.4
8 Ukraine 27.1 52.4 79.5 51.8
9 Belarus 27.0 55.9 83.0 48.3
10 Armenia 26.6 24.9 51.5 106.7
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics in EdStats, Nov. 2012;
Notes: Most recent data year available was used from 2008-2011.
Data were not available for 97 of 214 countries.

8. Gross Enrollment Ratio. Tertiary
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics in EdStats, Nov. 2012
Note: Data displayed is for the latest available year (2008-2011)
The maps displayed were produced by EdStats. The boundaries, colors, denominations and any
other information shown on this map do not imply, on the part of the World Bank Group, any
judgment on the legal status of any territory, or any endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries.
The maps are for reference only.

9. Do countries with higher income per capita
have higher tertiary enrollment rates?
 Most countries with
gross national income
(GNI) per capita less
than $1000 have
tertiary GERs less than
11%. Tajikistan (20%)
and Kyrgyz Rep (49%)
are the two exceptions.
 Countries with GNI pc
more than $20,000
have tertiary GERs
higher than 50%
except for Qatar
(10%), Luxembourg
(10.5%), Brunei
(17.2%), and
Liechtenstein (36.0%).
Most countries with a GNI pc higher than $20,000
have tertiary GERs higher than 50%.
R² = 0.202
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
0 20 40 60 80
Grossenrolmentratio.Tertiary(ISCED5and6).Total
GNI per capita, Atlas method (current US$)
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics in EdStats, Nov. 2012
Note: Data is for the most recent year between 2009 and 2011.
Slovenia
Brunei
Norway
Switzerland
United States
Finland
Oman
Luxembourg, Qat
ar
Belarus

10. Which regions have reached gender
parity in tertiary enrollments?
 In 2000, the world gender
parity index (GPI) for
tertiary enrollments was
1.0 – perfect gender
parity. Since then, female
GERs have been higher
than male GERs, and the
GPI has been moving
above 1.0.
 MNA is the only region
within +/- 0.05 of gender
parity in 2010. LAC and
ECA have consistently
had higher female
GERs, and EAP has
reversed from a male
bias to a female bias.
 SAS and SSA have
maintained a strong male
bias in tertiary
enrolments over time.
Gender disparities in tertiary enrolment rates vary
greatly across regions.
1.00
1.02
1.04
1.06 1.07 1.08
0.60
0.65
0.70
0.75
0.80
0.85
0.90
0.95
1.00
1.05
1.10
1.15
1.20
1.25
1.30
2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010
GenderParityIndex(GPI)forGrossEnrolmentRate.Tertiary
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics in EdStats, Oct. 2012
WLD EAP ECA LAC MNA SAS SSA
Female Bias
Male Bias

11. Does gender parity exist in tertiary
enrollments in most countries?
 Only 9 countries are
within +/-0.05 of
gender parity in
tertiary enrollments.
 63% of countries
have a female bias in
tertiary enrolments
vs. 37% with higher
male enrolment rates.
 One country –
Vietnam – has perfect
gender parity (1.0).
 In 10 countries, the
female GER more
than doubles the
male GER. These
countries are island
nations in LAC and
Qatar (see next
slide).
The majority of countries have higher female
enrolment rates than male enrolment rates in tertiary
education.
0.00
0.50
1.00
1.50
2.00
2.50
3.00
3.50
4.00
4.50
5.00
5.50
GenderParityIndex(GPI)forGrossEnrolmentRatio.Tertiary
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics in EdStats, Nov. 2012
Note: Data points are the most recent year with data available (2008-2011)
Female
Bias
Male Bias

12. Which countries have the largest gender
disparities in tertiary enrolments?
10 Countries with the Largest Male Bias
in Tertiary Enrolments
(2008-2011)
1 Chad 0.17
2 Congo, Rep. 0.21
3 Afghanistan 0.24
4 Congo, Dem. Rep. 0.31
5 Central African Republic 0.32
6 Eritrea 0.33
7 Guinea 0.33
8 Ethiopia 0.36
9 Benin 0.38
10 Niger 0.38
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics in EdStats, Oct. 2012; Notes:
Maroon=2011; Black = 2010; Purple = 2009; Blue = 2008; Data were not
available for 73 of 213 countries.
10 Countries with the Largest Female
Bias in Tertiary Enrolments
(2008-2011)
1 Qatar 5.38
2 Dominica 3.35
3 Antigua and Barbuda 2.58
4 St. Lucia 2.57
5 Guyana 2.52
6 Barbados 2.38
7 Jamaica 2.28
8 Cayman Islands 2.24
9 Bermuda 2.12
10 St. Kitts and Nevis 2.10
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics in EdStats, Oct. 2012;
Notes: Black = 2010; Blue = 2008; Data were not available for 73 of
213 countries.

13. Do gender, income, or location disparities
exist in post-secondary attendance ratios?
 Levels of gender
disparity in post-
secondary attendance
are much lower than
levels of location and
income disparity. More
girls than boys attend
post-secondary schools
in EAP, ECA, and LAC.
 Rural areas have
between 5 (SSA) and 15
(LAC) percent lower
attendance ratios than
urban areas.
 Income is the largest
source of disparity
across regions. Income
disparities range from 8
percentage points in
SSA to 34 in LAC.2
Income is the largest source of disparity in post-
secondary gross attendance ratios in all regions.
-5
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
EAP ECA LAC MNA SAS SSA
PercentagePointDifferenceinGrossAttendanceRatio.Post-Sec.
(Male-Female,Urban-Rural,andQuintile1-Quintile5)
Gender disparity
Location disparity
Income disparity
Source: Estimated by Porta (2011) using data from Demographic and Health
Surveys, Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys, and Living Standards
Measurement Studies for 1985-2007

14. Expenditures
on Tertiary
Education

15. Which countries spend the least per
student on tertiary education?
 On average, countries
spend 91% of per
capita GDP per tertiary
student. The median
spending is 30%.
These countries spend
between 3.5 and 12%.
 Three countries are in
ECA and 3 are in EAP.
 Korea, Rep. has the
12th lowest spending
level, but has a 103%
gross enrollment rate.
 Six of 9 countries have
private enrollment
shares higher than
50%.
10 Countries with the Lowest Share of
p.c. GDP per Tertiary Student
(2006-2012)
Share of pc
GDP (%) per
student
Tertiary
Enrolment
Rate (GER)
Private
Enrollment
Share (%)
1 Mongolia 3.5 57.2 38.7
2 Armenia 7.5 48.9 22.8
3 Lebanon 8.1 57.7 60.8
4 Liechtenstein 9.2 36.0 100.0
5 Peru 9.2 43.0 54.3
6 Philippines 9.6 28.2 65.9
7 Kazakhstan 10.2 43.2 50.6
8 Myanmar 10.8 14.8
9 El Salvador 11.6 23.4 66.6
10 Georgia 12.3 30.0 20.9
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics in EdStats, Feb. 2013
Notes: Figures are for the most recent year with data available: Black figures are for
2011; Blue are for 2010; Green for 2009; Maroon for 2008; Purple for 2007; Data
were not available for 96 countries.

16. Which countries spend the most per
student on tertiary education?
 All the listed countries
are in Sub-Saharan
Africa.
 These countries
spend from 2 to 18
times GDP per capita
on each tertiary
student.
 Despite high
spending, all the
countries in the list
have gross enrollment
rates less than 8%.
These countries are
all within the bottom
20 countries in tertiary
enrolment rates.
10 Countries with the Highest Share of
p.c. GDP per Tertiary Student
(2006-2012)
Share of pc
GDP (%) per
student
Tertiary
Enrolment
Rate (GER)
Private
Enrollment
Share (%)
1 Malawi 1859.4 0.8 10.3
2 Lesotho 1331.1 3.5
3 Tanzania 868.2 2.1
4 Niger 564.6 1.5 25.0
5 Burundi 350.8 3.2 57.7
6 Swaziland 296.4 4.4
7 Botswana 256.3 7.4 100.0
8 Chad 247.9 2.3 28.2
9 Burkina Faso 243.1 3.9 22.0
10 Mauritania 193.5 4.4
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics in EdStats, Feb. 2013
Notes: Figures are for the most recent year with data available: Black figures are for
2011; Blue are for 2010; Green for 2009; Maroon for 2008; Purple for 2007; Beige
for 2006; Data were not available for 96 countries.

17. Public Expenditure per Pupil as a %
of GDP per capita. Tertiary
(2006-2012)
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics in EdStats, 2013
Note: Data displayed is for the latest available year
The maps displayed were produced by EdStats. The boundaries, colors, denominations and any
other information shown on this map do not imply, on the part of the World Bank Group, any
judgment on the legal status of any territory, or any endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries.
The maps are for reference only.

18. This presentation utilizes the following data sources:
1) UNESCO Institute for Statistics data in the EdStats Query
 The presentation was created with the most recent UIS data release that
included 2010 data for most indicators/countries.
 Indicators were calculated by UIS according to definitions available in the
EdStats Query.
2) Income/Gender/Location Disparity slides were based on data
and analysis extracted from:
 Demographic and Health Surveys, Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys, and
Living Standards Measurement Studies for 1985-2007; Reports were
generated through ADePT Edu (2011).
Data Sources

19. The State of Education Series
The following State of Education presentations
are available on the EdStats website:
Educational Levels:
 Pre-Primary Education
 Primary Education
 Secondary Education
 Tertiary Education
Topics:
 Access
 Quality
 Expenditures
 Literacy
 Equity
 Gender