In 2023, the gross enrollment rate in tertiary education in China reached **** percent of the respective age cohorts. The total number of enrolled degree students in tertiary education increased to ***** million that same year. The great expansion of tertiary education in China is shown by the fact that the enrollment rate ranged at only *** percent in 1990.

In 2023, the number of students enrolled in degree programs at all kinds of public institutions of tertiary education in China reached around ***** million. Based on this figure, the gross enrollment rate in tertiary education in China grew to around **** percent that same year. In 1990, only *** million students had been studying at the same level of education. When counting only undergraduate students enrolled at public colleges and universities in China, enrollment numbers reached around **** million in 2022.

China Gross Enrollment Rate of Higher Education data was reported at 60.200 % in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 59.600 % for 2022. China Gross Enrollment Rate of Higher Education data is updated yearly, averaging 24.200 % from Dec 1995 (Median) to 2023, with 29 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 60.200 % in 2023 and a record low of 7.200 % in 1995. China Gross Enrollment Rate of Higher Education data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Ministry of Education. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Socio-Demographic – Table CN.GD: Gross Enrollment Rate.

China: Ratio of female to male students in tertiary level education: The latest value from 2023 is 1.14 percent, a decline from 1.15 percent in 2022. In comparison, the world average is 1.16 percent, based on data from 62 countries. Historically, the average for China from 1974 to 2023 is 0.91 percent. The minimum value, 0.33 percent, was reached in 1979 while the maximum of 1.2 percent was recorded in 2018.

In 2022, more than *** million students were enrolled in master's and doctor's degree programs at colleges and universities in China. Female students accounted for almost ** percent of master's degrees enrolment, significantly higher than that of doctor's degrees.

Percentage of enrolment in tertiary education in private institutions (%) in China was reported at 14.43 % in 2019, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. China - Percentage of enrolment in tertiary education in private institutions - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

School enrollment, tertiary (% gross) in China was reported at 74.82 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. China - School enrollment, tertiary (% gross) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

China Population: Education Level: College and Higher data was reported at 270.529 Person th in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 265.414 Person th for 2022. China Population: Education Level: College and Higher data is updated yearly, averaging 117.925 Person th from Dec 1982 (Median) to 2023, with 29 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 217,224.651 Person th in 2020 and a record low of 25.422 Person th in 1996. China Population: Education Level: College and Higher data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Socio-Demographic – Table CN.GA: Population: Sample Survey: Level of Education.

China Higher Education Researchers: Compound Annual Growth Rate data was reported at 7.994 % in 2022. This records a decrease from the previous number of 9.523 % for 2021. China Higher Education Researchers: Compound Annual Growth Rate data is updated yearly, averaging 6.062 % from Dec 1992 (Median) to 2022, with 30 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 42.449 % in 2019 and a record low of -16.276 % in 1995. China Higher Education Researchers: Compound Annual Growth Rate data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The data is categorized under Global Database’s China – Table CN.OECD.MSTI: Number of Researchers and Personnel on Research and Development: Non OECD Member: Annual.

The national breakdown by source of funds does not fully match with the classification defined in the Frascati Manual. The R&D financed by the government, business enterprises, and by the rest of the world can be retrieved but part of the expenditure has no specific source of financing, i.e. self-raised funding (in particular for independent research institutions), the funds from the higher education sector and left-over government grants from previous years.

The government and higher education sectors cover all fields of NSE and SSH while the business enterprise sector only covers the fields of NSE. There are only few organisations in the private non-profit sector, hence no R&D survey has been carried out in this sector and the data are not available.

From 2009, researcher data are collected according to the Frascati Manual definition of researcher. Beforehand, this was only the case for independent research institutions, while for the other sectors data were collected according to the UNESCO concept of “scientist and engineer”.

In 2009, the survey coverage in the business and the government sectors has been expanded.

Before 2000, all of the personnel data and 95% of the expenditure data in the business enterprise sector are for large and medium-sized enterprises only. Since 2000 however, the survey covers almost all industries and all enterprises above a certain threshold. In 2000 and 2004, a census of all enterprises was held, while in the intermediate years data for small enterprises are estimated.

Due to the reform of the S&T system some government institutions have become enterprises, and their R&D data have been reflected in the Business Enterprise sector since 2000.

In 2023, the number of public colleges and universities in China amounted to *****. These included ***** universities and ***** higher vocational colleges. The total number of colleges and universities increased significantly in the last decades. Plans to further develop and modernize the national higher education system is among the latest policy trends of the Chinese government. Initiatives such as the Double First Class University Plan are some of the most recent contributions to the higher education development plan aimed at improving Chinese universities' standards as well as creating more world-class universities across the country. Student enrollment in China As of 2023, around 37.75 million undergraduate students were enrolled in public colleges and universities in China. Before the coronavirus pandemic, approximately 490,000 foreign students were studying in China. The total enrollment rate in tertiary education increased from less than ten percent in the late 1990s to nearly 60.2 percent by 2023. The number of university teachers grew accordingly, keeping the average university student to university teacher ratio around 18 to 1. What are the leading universities in China? Mainland China has two higher education institutions continuously ranked among the top 50 universities in the world. Tsinghua University in Beijing is the leading higher education school in China and one of the most reputable ones globally. Peking University, the second best in the country, is the oldest national university founded in 1898 as the Imperial University of Peking and besides its academic reputation is also famous for one of the most beautiful university campuses. Fudan University in Shanghai, University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei, Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and Nanjing University are other prestigious schools consistently competing in China's top 10 university rankings.

Graph and download economic data for Ratio of Female to Male Tertiary School Enrollment for China (SEENRTERTFMZSCHN) from 1974 to 2023 about enrolled, females, males, ratio, tertiary schooling, China, and education.

According to latest figures, around 38.91 million undergraduate students were enrolled in degree programs at public colleges and universities in China in 2024. In 2023, around 20.67 million students were studying in bachelor's degree programs, while 17.08 million were enrolled in more practically oriented short-cycle degree programs. The number of graduates from these programs reached around 10.47 million in 2023. On a postgraduate level, there were almost 3.9 million master's and doctor's degree students studying at public institutions in China in 2023. Development of enrollment figures Since the beginning of the reform era in 1979, the number of students enrolled at institutions of tertiary education in China has increased tremendously. While the gross enrollment rate in tertiary education ranged at only 3.4 percent in 1990, it reached 60 percent of related age groups in 2023. This is the result of a thorough governmental plan aimed at increasing the number of specialists China needed for its economic development. The quality of university education in China also increased a lot throughout these years. Nowadays, two Chinese institutions, Tsinghua University and Peking University, regularly reach the highest positions in international university rankings, while a broad group of institutions are continuously improving into the midfield of international universities. However, competition for admission to the elite universities is fierce and the quality of many lower level colleges is not comparable to higher international standards. Types of tertiary education in China China generally differentiates between universities, providing four-year bachelor, master and doctorate programs, and higher vocational colleges, providing more practically oriented three-year, short-cycle degree programs. In addition, it is possible to obtain degrees at public institutes for adult education and from online and self-learning courses provided by public institutions. The number of students enrolled in degree programs at all different levels of public tertiary education in China reached more than 47.6 million in 2023. In addition to public institutions, there is also a growing number of students enrolled at private colleges and universities. However, these private institutions are generally not as esteemed and work on a lower level than their public counterparts.

Percentage of students in tertiary education who are female (%) in China was reported at 51.88 % in 2018, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. China - Percentage of students in tertiary education who are female - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

Students from the Chinese ethnic group had the highest entry rate into higher education in every year from 2006 to 2024.

No of School: Higher Institution: Guangdong: Chaozhou data was reported at 1.000 Unit in 2023. This stayed constant from the previous number of 1.000 Unit for 2022. No of School: Higher Institution: Guangdong: Chaozhou data is updated yearly, averaging 1.000 Unit from Dec 1997 (Median) to 2023, with 26 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1.000 Unit in 2023 and a record low of 1.000 Unit in 2023. No of School: Higher Institution: Guangdong: Chaozhou data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Chaozhou Municipal Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Socio-Demographic – Table CN.GH: Number of School: Higher Education: Regular: Prefecture Level City.

Gross graduation ratio from first degree programmes (ISCED 6 and 7) in tertiary education, female (%) in China was reported at 39.26 % in 2019, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. China - Gross graduation ratio, tertiary, first degree programmes (ISCED 6 and 7), female - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

No of School: Higher Institution: Anhui: Lu'an data was reported at 4.000 Unit in 2023. This stayed constant from the previous number of 4.000 Unit for 2022. No of School: Higher Institution: Anhui: Lu'an data is updated yearly, averaging 4.000 Unit from Dec 1999 (Median) to 2023, with 25 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 5.000 Unit in 2015 and a record low of 2.000 Unit in 2002. No of School: Higher Institution: Anhui: Lu'an data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Lu'an Municipal Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Socio-Demographic – Table CN.GH: Number of School: Higher Education: Regular: Prefecture Level City.

No of Full-time Teacher: Higher Institution: Guangxi: Yulin data was reported at 1.420 Person th in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 1.236 Person th for 2022. No of Full-time Teacher: Higher Institution: Guangxi: Yulin data is updated yearly, averaging 0.823 Person th from Dec 1999 (Median) to 2023, with 25 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1.420 Person th in 2023 and a record low of 0.341 Person th in 1999. No of Full-time Teacher: Higher Institution: Guangxi: Yulin data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Yulin Municipal Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Socio-Demographic – Table CN.GH: Number of Teacher: Higher Education: Regular: Prefecture Level City.

No of School: Higher Institution: Hebei: Chengde data was reported at 6.000 Unit in 2023. This stayed constant from the previous number of 6.000 Unit for 2022. No of School: Higher Institution: Hebei: Chengde data is updated yearly, averaging 5.000 Unit from Dec 1997 (Median) to 2023, with 27 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 6.000 Unit in 2023 and a record low of 4.000 Unit in 2015. No of School: Higher Institution: Hebei: Chengde data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Chengde Municipal Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Socio-Demographic – Table CN.GH: Number of School: Higher Education: Regular: Prefecture Level City.

The statistic shows countries or regions preferred by surveyed Chinese millionaires for higher education abroad as of 2024. That year, about 47 percent of surveyed millionaires in China chose the United States as the country to which they would send their children for undergraduate or higher level education.