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Statistics and indicators on women and men

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Table 4d. Tertiary education
Last update: June 2009
	Tertiary gross enrolment ratio				Women's share of tertiary enrolment
Country or area	Year		Women	Men	Year		%
Afghanistan	2004		1	2	2004		20.4
Albania	2004		23	15	2004		62.1
Algeria	2007		28	20	2007		57.4
Andorra	2006	a	11	9	2006		53.1
Angola	2002	a	1	1	2002	a	39.9
Anguilla	2006	b	8	2	2006		83.0
Argentina	2005		76	52	2005		58.7
Armenia	2007		39	32	2007		54.8
Aruba	2007		39	27	2007		58.4
Australia	2006		82	64	2006		54.9
Austria	2006		55	45	2006		53.7
Azerbaijan	2007		14	16	2007		45.7
Bahrain	2006		47	19	2006		68.4
Bangladesh	2006		5	9	2006		34.8
Barbados	2007		73	34	2007		68.0
Belarus	2007		80	57	2007		57.5
Belgium	2006		70	56	2006		54.7
Belize	2004		4	2	2004		70.2
Benin	2001	b	2	7	2001	b	19.8
Bermuda	2005	a	24	13	2005		65.1
Bhutan	2006		4	7	2006		32.7
Botswana	2005		5	5	2005		49.8
Brazil	2005		29	22	2005		55.9
British Virgin Islands	2005	a	106	46	2005	b	69.0
Brunei Darussalam	2007		20	11	2007		64.5
Bulgaria	2006		50	41	2006		53.5
Burkina Faso	2007		2	3	2007		30.9
Burundi	2006		1	3	2006		30.6
Cambodia	2007		4	7	2007		35.2
Cameroon	2006		6	8	2006		41.8
Canada	2004	b	72	53	2004		56.5
Cape Verde	2007		10	8	2007		54.6
Cayman Islands	2001	b	28	9	2006	b	71.6
Central African Republic	2000		1	3	2006		22.5
Chad	2005		…	2	2005	b	12.5
Chile	2006		47	47	2006		49.2
China	2006		21	22	2006		47.1
China, Hong Kong SAR	2007		34	33	2007		50.1
China, Macao SAR	2007		55	59	2007		48.8
Colombia	2007		33	30	2007		51.5
Comoros	2004	b	2	3	2004	b	43.2
Congo	2003	b	1	6	2003	b	15.8
Costa Rica	2005	b	28	23	2005	b	54.3
Cote d'Ivoire	1999		3	9	1999		26.0
Croatia	2006		49	40	2006		54.1
Cuba	2007		143	77	2007		63.6
Cyprus	2006	a	34	33	2006		50.9
Czech Republic	2006		55	45	2006		53.8
Denmark	2006		93	67	2006		57.4
Djibouti	2006		2	3	2006		40.0
Dominican Republic	2004	b	42	27	2004	b	61.3
El Salvador	2006		23	19	2006		54.7
Equatorial Guinea	2000		2	4	2000		30.3
Eritrea	2004		…	2	2004		13.1
Estonia	2006		82	49	2006		61.6
Ethiopia	2007		1	4	2007		25.5
Fiji	2005	b	17	14	2005	b	53.1
Finland	2006		103	84	2006		53.9
France	2006		63	50	2006		55.3
Gabon	1999		5	9	1999		36.0
Gambia	2004		…	2	2004		19.2
Georgia	2007		39	35	2007		52.0
Ghana	2007		4	8	2007		34.2
Greece	2006		101	89	2006		50.9
Guatemala	2006	b	8	10	2006	b	45.9
Guinea	2006		2	8	2006		21.4
Guinea-Bissau	2001		…	1	2001	b	15.6
Guyana	2006		16	7	2006		68.7
Honduras	2004	b	20	14	2004	b	58.6
Hungary	2006		82	56	2006		58.5
Iceland	2006		96	51	2006		64.4
India	2006		10	14	2006		39.9
Indonesia	2005	b	15	19	2005	b	43.7
Iran, Islamic Republic of	2007		34	29	2007		52.4
Iraq	2005	b	12	20	2005	b	36.2
Ireland	2006		66	52	2006		55.1
Israel	2006		65	51	2006		55.1
Italy	2006		78	56	2006		57.0
Jamaica	2003	b	26	12	2003	b	69.9
Japan	2006		54	61	2006		45.7
Jordan	2006		41	37	2006		51.6
Kazakhstan	2008		56	39	2008		58.2
Kenya	2004		2	3	2004		37.5
Kuwait	2006		26	11	2006		65.4
Kyrgyzstan	2007		48	37	2007		56.1
Lao People's Democratic Republic	2006		7	11	2006		40.0
Latvia	2006		95	53	2006		63.3
Lebanon	2007		56	47	2007		54.0
Lesotho	2006		4	3	2006		55.2
Liberia	2000		13	18	2000		42.8
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya	2003	b	58	53	2003	b	51.4
Liechtenstein	2004		14	36	2006		30.4
Lithuania	2006		93	60	2006		59.9
Luxembourg	2006		11	10	2006		51.6
Madagascar	2007		3	3	2007		47.0
Malawi	2007		…	1	2007		33.6
Malaysia	2005		32	25	2005		56.0
Maldives	…		…	…	2004	b	69.9
Mali	2005	b	2	4	2005	b	31.5
Malta	2005		36	27	2005		56.3
Marshall Islands	2003	b	19	15	2003	b	56.5
Mauritania	2006		2	5	2006		25.7
Mauritius	2006		18	16	2006		53.0
Mexico	2006		25	27	2006		50.3
Mongolia	2007		58	37	2007		60.5
Morocco	2007		11	12	2007		47.6
Mozambique	2005		1	2	2005		33.1
Myanmar	2001	b	15	9	2001	b	63.4
Namibia	2006		6	7	2006		46.7
Nepal	2004		3	8	2004		27.6
Netherlands	2006		62	58	2006		51.1
Netherlands Antilles	2002		25	17	2002		59.7
New Zealand	2006		96	64	2006		59.0
Nicaragua	2003	b	19	17	2003	b	52.1
Niger	2006		1	2	2006		26.6
Nigeria	2005		8	12	2005		40.7
Norway	2006		94	61	2006		59.8
Occupied Palestinian Territory	2007		51	42	2007		53.7
Oman	2007		28	23	2007		53.1
Pakistan	2007		5	6	2007	b	44.5
Palau	2002	b	57	27	2002	b	63.4
Panama	2006		56	35	2006		60.9
Papau New Guinea	1999	b	1	3	1999	b	35.0
Paraguay	2005	b	27	24	2005	b	52.3
Peru	2006	b	36	34	2006	b	50.9
Philippines	2006		32	25	2006		54.5
Poland	2006		77	55	2006		57.4
Portugal	2006		61	48	2006		55.2
Qatar	2007		27	9	2007		64.3
Republic of Korea	2006		72	111	2006		37.5
Republic of Moldova	2007	a	48	35	2007	b	57.3
Romania	2006		59	46	2006		55.4
Russian Federation	2006		83	61	2006		56.9
Rwanda	2005	b	2	3	2005	b	39.0
Saint Lucia	2006		17	3	2006		84.6
Samoa	2001	b	7	8	2001	b	44.4
San Marino	…		…	…	2000		57.9
Saudi Arabia	2006		36	25	2006		58.1
Sierra Leone	2002	b	1	3	2002	b	28.8
Slovakia	2006		53	38	2006		57.7
Slovenia	2006		99	68	2006		58.4
South Africa	2006		17	14	2006		55.1
Spain	2006		74	61	2006		53.9
Sudan	2000	b	6	6	2000	b	47.2
Suriname	2002		15	9	2002		62.0
Swaziland	2006		4	4	2006		49.8
Sweden	2006		96	62	2006		59.6
Switzerland	2006		43	48	2006		47.0
Tajikistan	2007		11	29	2007		27.5
Thailand	2007		55	44	2007		54.5
The Former Yugoslav Rep. of Macedonia	2005		35	25	2005		56.7
Timor-Leste	2002	a	11	9	2002	a	52.9
Togo	2001	b	1	6	2001	b	16.9
Tonga	2004	b	8	5	2004	b	59.8
Trinidad and Tobago	2005	b	13	10	2005	b	55.6
Tunisia	2006		37	26	2006		57.5
Turkey	2006		30	39	2006		42.4
Uganda	2004		3	4	2004		38.4
Ukraine	2007		85	68	2007		54.3
United Arab Emirates	2007		34	15	2007		60.2
United Kingdom	2006		69	50	2006		57.3
United Republic of Tanzania	2005	b	1	2	2005	b	32.4
United States	2006		96	68	2006		57.4
Uruguay	2006		58	35	2006		61.9
Uzbekistan	2007		8	11	2007		41.0
Vanuatu	2004	b	4	6	2004	b	36.1
Venezuela	2003	b	41	38	2003	b	51.0
Viet Nam	2001		8	11	2005		40.9
Yemen	2006	b	5	14	2006	b	26.1
Zambia	2000	b	1	3	2000	b	31.6
Zimbabwe	2003	b	3	4	2003	b	38.8

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Sources:

Gross enrolment ratio in tertiary education
UNESCO Institute for Statistics, table 14: Tertiary indicators, available from UIS website, http://www.uis.unesco.org (accessed June 2009).

Women’s share of tertiary enrolment
Calculated by the United Nations Statistics Division based on data published by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics in table 14: Tertiary indicators, available from UIS website, http://www.uis.unesco.org (accessed June 2009).

Footnotes:

…	Not available.
a	National estimation.
b	UIS estimation.

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Technical notes:

Statistics on enrolment are compiled by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Institute for Statistics (UIS) from data provided by national Governments in response to UIS questionnaires.

The 1997 International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED 97) defines tertiary education as education programmes at ISCED levels 5 and 6. Education at ISCED level 5 includes programmes that are theoretically based or research preparatory (history, philosophy, mathematics, etc.) or giving access to professions with high skills requirements (e.g., medicine, dentistry, architecture, etc.), and those programmes that are practical, technical or occupationally specific. Level 6 are tertiary programmes that lead to the award of an advanced research qualification. The programmes are therefore devoted to advanced study and original research and are not based on course-work only.

The tertiary gross enrolment ratio is defined as enrolment at third level, regardless of age, expressed as a percentage of the population in the theoretical school age group corresponding to this level of education. For the tertiary level, the population is the five-year age group following on from the secondary-school leaving age. The tertiary gross enrolment ratio is used to show the general level of participation in this level of education.

The women’s share of tertiary enrolment refers to the percentage of students enrolled in tertiary education who are female. This indicator helps assess gender disparity with regard to participation in tertiary education. When the indicator approaches 50% it reflects a good level of gender parity.