There were approximately 18.58 million college students in the U.S. in 2022, with around 13.49 million enrolled in public colleges and a further 5.09 million students enrolled in private colleges. The figures are projected to remain relatively constant over the next few years.

What is the most expensive college in the U.S.? The overall number of higher education institutions in the U.S. totals around 4,000, and California is the state with the most. One important factor that students – and their parents – must consider before choosing a college is cost. With annual expenses totaling almost 78,000 U.S. dollars, Harvey Mudd College in California was the most expensive college for the 2021-2022 academic year. There are three major costs of college: tuition, room, and board. The difference in on-campus and off-campus accommodation costs is often negligible, but they can change greatly depending on the college town.

The differences between public and private colleges Public colleges, also called state colleges, are mostly funded by state governments. Private colleges, on the other hand, are not funded by the government but by private donors and endowments. Typically, private institutions are  much more expensive. Public colleges tend to offer different tuition fees for students based on whether they live in-state or out-of-state, while private colleges have the same tuition cost for every student.

In 2023/24 there were estimated to be over *** million students enrolled in higher education courses in the United Kingdom, compared with 2.94 million in 2022/23, the highest number of enrolled students during this provided time period. Although the number of students in the UK fell from *** million in 2011/12 to **** by 2014/15, this trend reversed in subsequent years, reaching the peak in the most recent year. Largest UK universities At ******* students, the mainly remote, Open University had the largest number of students enrolled among UK-based higher education institutions in 2022/23. University College London had the second-highest number of students at ******, followed by the University of Manchester at ******. At the UK's two oldest and most prestigious universities, Oxford and Cambridge, there were ******, and ****** students respectively. The university with the most students in Scotland was the University of Glasgow at *******students, with Wales' being Cardiff University at ****** students, and Northern Ireland's Ulster University having ****** students. Student Debt in the UK For students that graduated from English universities in 2024, the average student loan debt incurred over the course of their studies was over ****** British pounds. Although students graduated with less debt from universities in Wales, Northern Ireland, and especially Scotland, this too has been growing recently. In 2024, students from Scottish Universities graduated with an average of ****** pounds of debt, compared with ****** in Wales, and ****** in Northern Ireland. The overall outstanding student loan debt in the UK reached over *** billion pounds in 2023/24, with the vast majority of this debt from students who studied in England.

This file contains information on the number of higher education students in the UK, broken down by sex, level of education, mode of study, subject group and domicile.

In 2024/2025, more than *****million students were enrolled in a higher education structure in France. Since 1980, the number of students has more than doubled. That year, there were more than **** million students in higher education in the country, compared to **** million in 2000, and this number has kept rising since then. In 2022, Eurostat showed that more than ** percent of individuals aged 25 and over had attained an upper secondary or tertiary education in France. The democratization of higher education in France The rising number of students registered in higher education in France shows that higher education has become more accessible and widespread within the French population. French public universities are financed by the State and welcomed around *** million students in 2022, of whom the majority were following a degree course in Art and Humanities. In comparison, only ******* students were registered at a university in France in 1980. The same increase in the number of students has been seen in preparatory classes for entrance to the selective engineering, business, or management schools called Grandes Écoles. The limits of the attractiveness of the French education system Only two French universities were found in the ranking by Times Higher Education of the top European Universities in 2024. Despite having 625 universities in 2023, France appears to be struggling when it comes to reaching the top universities in Europe. Even though more training is now provided in English, the French language could have been an obstacle to attracting international prestige.

Over the past decade, the number of students in higher education increased in Norway. In 2010, there were approximately 240,000 students enrolled in higher educational institutions, but in 2023, the number had reached over 310,000. During the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused rising unemployment, more people chose to pursue a study, explaining the higher number of students in 2021. Over the last 10 years, there were consistently more female than male students, and the gender difference has only grown larger in recent years. Universities and studying abroad Higher education comprises different institutions such as universities, university colleges, and scientific colleges in Norway. For Norwegians, universities are by far the most common institution when attaining a higher education. Most higher education systems are state-run, and the largest university is the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, located in the city of Trondheim. Whilst studying, many students choose to study abroad for a period of time, with the United Kingdom being the most popular destination in 2022. Highest completed education Because of the significant rise in the number of people who have acquired a higher education in recent years, this is now the highest education completed among the largest share of Norwegians.

The Higher Education General Information Survey (HEGIS) series was designed to provide comprehensive information on various aspects of postsecondary education in the United States and its territories (American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and the Marshall Islands) and Department of Defense schools outside the United States. Data are available for both public and private two-year and four-year institutions. The HEGIS Fall Enrollment component for 1968 sought enrollment data from institutions of higher education. Key data elements, presented for up to five record types for each institution, include total enrollments of full-time and part-time students by class level, sex, race, and first-time enrollment status, as well as information on the institutions' type of accreditation, type of calendar system, and total number of students.

Earlier higher education student statistics bulletins are available on the HESA website.

Supplementary data referring to students at alternative providers will be published on 29 January 2020.

This bulletin is the annual first release of HESA student data. It draws upon data from the revised student data collection (delivered by the Data Futures programme) and marks the second year of reporting using the new data model. Once again, a comprehensive quality assessment has been undertaken on the dataset and this is detailed in our accompanying student data quality report. A detailed list of findings is available in the data quality and insights resource, which is also accompanied by provider specific data notes. The coverage of data is detailed in the notes section of this release. In summary, we cover data about higher education students and qualifiers from the following types of providers within the UK: -Higher education (HE) providers in England registered with the Office for Students (OfS) in the Approved (fee cap) or Approved categories; -Publicly funded HE providers in Northern Ireland and Scotland; and -Providers in Wales that are funded directly for higher education provision by Medr and providers in Wales that return data to HESA about specifically designated courses. This bulletin also includes information from the HESA Aggregate Offshore record which can be seen in Figure 12. This separate record counts students studying wholly outside the UK who are either registered with the reporting HE provider or who are studying for an award of the reporting HE provider.

In 2023, more than **** million people studied at universities in Poland. The most popular fields of study were ************************, and****, followed by health and welfare.

No of New Enrolled Student: Higher Edu: Regular Undergraduate and Specialized: Qinghai data was reported at 24,649.000 Person in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 24,130.000 Person for 2022. No of New Enrolled Student: Higher Edu: Regular Undergraduate and Specialized: Qinghai data is updated yearly, averaging 13,878.500 Person from Dec 1998 (Median) to 2023, with 26 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 24,649.000 Person in 2023 and a record low of 2,787.000 Person in 1998. No of New Enrolled Student: Higher Edu: Regular Undergraduate and Specialized: Qinghai 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: No of New Enrolled Student: Higher Education: By Region.

Indonesia Number of Student: Higher Education: Jakarta data was reported at 1,292,571.000 Person in 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 1,084,123.000 Person for 2017. Indonesia Number of Student: Higher Education: Jakarta data is updated yearly, averaging 841,942.500 Person from Mar 1995 (Median) to 2018, with 24 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1,292,571.000 Person in 2018 and a record low of 434,399.000 Person in 2007. Indonesia Number of Student: Higher Education: Jakarta data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Central Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Indonesia – Table ID.GAC003: Number of Student: by Province.

Provides in-year estimates of higher education student numbers on recognised higher education courses.

The Higher Education Statistics Agency Student Data covers information on students, staff, graduates, finances, estates, and other populations from all aspects of the UK higher eduation sector.

Indonesia Number of Student: Higher Education data was reported at 6,951,124.000 Person in 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 6,924,511.000 Person for 2017. Indonesia Number of Student: Higher Education data is updated yearly, averaging 3,461,512.000 Person from Mar 1995 (Median) to 2018, with 24 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 6,951,124.000 Person in 2018 and a record low of 2,229,796.000 Person in 1995. Indonesia Number of Student: Higher Education data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Central Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Indonesia – Table ID.GAC002: Number of Student.

Last update: 1 February 2022 Next update: January 2023

This data comes from the HEA's Student Record System (SRS). These are annual returns submitted to the HEA by each of the HEA-funded higher education institutions in Ireland. For further information, please visit www.hea.ie/statistics. .hidden { display: none }

In the fall semester of 2023, 383,000 students were registered in universities and other higher education institutions in Sweden. The number of students remained relatively stable until 2018, and rose sharply in 2020 as many chose to take up studies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Around 60 percent of the higher education students in Sweden are women. Financial aid for studies Sweden has a long tradition of state financial aid for students. Swedish students can apply for both student grants and loans at a low interest rate, or apply only for subsidies but no loans. The financial aid for students is managed by the Swedish Board of Student Finance (CSN). In 2021, more than 207,000 students in Sweden received both subsidies and loans. Moreover, there are no tuition fees at universities and high schools in Sweden. Stockholm largest university The Stockholm University had the highest number of registered students in Sweden in 2022, followed by the Uppsala University and the University of Gothenburg. Stockholm University is ranked among the world’s top 100 universities and located in the Swedish capital, which is also the largest city in Sweden.