In the academic year of 2021/22, about 835,320 male and almost 1.18 million female students earned a bachelor's degree in the United States. By the academic year of 2031/32, the number of male bachelor's degree recipients is expected to reach 975,020. Bachelor’s degrees in the United States American students typically earn a Bachelor’s degree for an undergraduate course of study and it is normally completed in four years. Depending on the major, students receive a Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Business Administration, Bachelor of Fine Arts, or another type of certificate. In 2021, about 1.17 million white students earned a Bachelor's degree, followed by 324,848 Hispanic students. Bachelor's degrees and earnings When looking at the mean income of Bachelor’s degree holders in 2021, there are marked differences between the female and male Bachelor’s degree holders. Men with a Bachelor’s degree earned about 107,315 U.S. dollars per year, compared to women, who earned 77,099 U.S. dollars per year. In addition, salaries tended to increase the more educated a person was.

In an impressive increase from years past, 40.1 percent of women in the United States had completed four years or more of college in 2024. This figure is up from 3.8 percent of women in 1940. A significant increase can also be seen in males, with 37.1 percent of the U.S. male population having completed four years or more of college in 2024, up from 5.5 percent in 1940. 4- and 2-year colleges In the United States, college students are able to choose between attending a 2-year postsecondary program and a 4-year postsecondary program. Generally, attending a 2-year program results in an Associate’s Degree, and 4-year programs result in a Bachelor’s Degree. Many 2-year programs are designed so that attendees can transfer to a college or university offering a 4-year program upon completing their Associate’s. Completion of a 4-year program is the generally accepted standard for entry-level positions when looking for a job. Earnings after college Factors such as gender, degree achieved, and the level of postsecondary education can have an impact on employment and earnings later in life. Some Bachelor’s degrees continue to attract more male students than female, particularly in STEM fields, while liberal arts degrees such as education, languages and literatures, and communication tend to see higher female attendance. All of these factors have an impact on earnings after college, and despite nearly the same rate of attendance within the American population between males and females, men with a Bachelor’s Degree continue to have higher weekly earnings on average than their female counterparts.

In the academic year of 2021/22, almost 2.02 million students were awarded a Bachelor's degree in the United States. This figure is expected to increase to the academic year of 2031/32, when about 2.46 million students are forecasted to be awarded a Bachelor's degree.

In 2024, a record high of around ***** million students graduated from undergraduate programs at public colleges and universities in China. That number was more than double as high as the number of degrees earned at all levels of higher education in the United States. The vast number of graduates from Chinese universities originates from the increasing enrollment in colleges and universities across the country. Of the ***** million Chinese graduates of 2023, around **** million earned a bachelor's degree, whereas **** million earned a more practically oriented short-cycle degree. On a graduate and postgraduate level, around *** million master's and doctor's degree students graduated from public colleges and universities in China in 2023. What are the popular majors? In recent years, the most favored majors among Chinese bachelor students were *********************************************, while short-cycle degree students chose majors such as *****************************************************************. Meanwhile, ****************************************************************************************************** were among the least desirable subjects. However, even the popular, highly competitive fields of study do not always guarantee quick and successful employment after graduation. What are the labor market prospects for graduates? The graduate employment rate within half a year after graduation has been generally stable in China over the past seven years, exceeding ** percent on average. Those that struggle to find a job are usually graduates from less technical, quantitative majors who often lack both practical “hard skills” and “soft skills” such as communication, critical thinking, and managerial abilities. ********************************************** top employment rates as well as secure higher-starting salaries. The average monthly salary of a university graduate in China has increased by around ** percent in the last ten years. However, high rent and costs of living in cities like Beijing or Shanghai often force young graduates to return to their hometowns or to seek employment in the second and third tier cities.

Graph and download economic data for Unemployment Level - College Graduates - Doctoral Degree, 25 to 34 years, Men (CGDDUM2534) from Apr 2000 to Aug 2025 about doctoral degree, 25 to 34 years, tertiary schooling, males, education, household survey, unemployment, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Unemployment Rate - College Graduates - Master's Degree, 25 years and over, Women (CGMD25OW) from Jan 2000 to Aug 2025 about master's degree, 25 years +, tertiary schooling, females, education, unemployment, rate, and USA.

Statistics on postsecondary graduates, including the number of graduates, the percentage of female graduates and age at graduation, are presented by the province of study and the level of study. Estimates are available at five-year intervals.

Graph and download economic data for Unemployment Level - College Graduates - Bachelor's Degree, 25 years and over (CGBDU25O) from Jan 2000 to Aug 2025 about 25 years +, tertiary schooling, education, household survey, unemployment, and USA.

In 2022, about 37.7 percent of the U.S. population who were aged 25 and above had graduated from college or another higher education institution, a slight decline from 37.9 the previous year. However, this is a significant increase from 1960, when only 7.7 percent of the U.S. population had graduated from college. Demographics Educational attainment varies by gender, location, race, and age throughout the United States. Asian-American and Pacific Islanders had the highest level of education, on average, while Massachusetts and the District of Colombia are areas home to the highest rates of residents with a bachelor’s degree or higher. However, education levels are correlated with wealth. While public education is free up until the 12th grade, the cost of university is out of reach for many Americans, making social mobility increasingly difficult. Earnings White Americans with a professional degree earned the most money on average, compared to other educational levels and races. However, regardless of educational attainment, males typically earned far more on average compared to females. Despite the decreasing wage gap over the years in the country, it remains an issue to this day. Not only is there a large wage gap between males and females, but there is also a large income gap linked to race as well.

The number of graduates from colleges and universities across Taiwan

Graph and download economic data for Civilian Labor Force: College Graduates: Advanced Degree: Master's Degree and Higher, 16 to 17 years (CGADL1617) from May 2015 to Aug 2025 about 16 to 17 years, master's degree, tertiary schooling, civilian, education, labor force, labor, household survey, and USA.

The Recent College Graduates (RCG) survey estimates the potential supply of newly qualified teachers in the United States and explores the immediate post-degree employment and education experiences of individuals obtaining bachelor's or master's degrees from American colleges and universities. The RCG survey, which focuses heavily, but not exclusively, on those graduates qualified to teach at the elementary and secondary levels, is designed to meet the following objectives: (1) to determine how many graduates become eligible or qualified to teach for the first time and how many are employed as teachers in the year following graduation, by teaching field, (2) to examine the relationship between courses taken, student achievement, and occupational outcomes, and (3) to monitor unemployment rates and average salaries of graduates by field of study. The RCG survey collects information on education and employment of all graduates (date of graduation, field of study, whether newly qualified to teach, further enrollment, financial aid, employment status, and teacher employment characteristics) as well as standard demographic characteristics such as earnings, age, marital status, sex, and race/ethnicity. The 1989-1990 survey (called RCG-91 because the data were collected in 1991) contains four data files. Part 1 contains variables from the main questionnaire and includes information on type of degree received, teaching eligibility, certification, salary, and whether the respondent was unemployed. Also included are transcripts for sampled bachelor degree recipients. Part 2 contains verbatim comments from graduates regarding fields of study, occupation, and parents' occupations. Replicate weights are contained in Part 3, and imputation flags are found in Part 4.

The Recent College Graduates (RCG) survey estimates the potential supply of newly qualified teachers in the United States and explores the immediate post-degree employment and education experiences of individuals obtaining bachelor's or master's degrees from American colleges and universities. The RCG survey, which focuses heavily, but not exclusively, on those graduates qualified to teach at the elementary and secondary levels, is designed to meet the following objectives: (1) to determine how many graduates become eligible or qualified to teach for the first time and how many are employed as teachers in the year following graduation, by teaching field, (2) to examine the relationships among courses taken, student achievement, and occupational outcomes, and (3) to monitor unemployment rates and average salaries of graduates by field of study. The RCG survey collects information on education and employment of all graduates (date of graduation, field of study, whether newly qualified to teach, further enrollment, financial aid, employment status, and teacher employment characteristics) as well as standard demographic characteristics such as earnings, age, marital status, sex, and race/ethnicity.

College graduates by detailed field of study, institution, program type, credential type, status of student in Canada and gender.

The National Survey of College Graduates is a repeated cross-sectional biennial survey that provides data on the nation's college graduates, with a focus on those in the science and engineering workforce. This survey is a unique source for examining the relationship of degree field and occupation in addition to other characteristics of college-educated individuals, including work activities, salary, and demographic information. This dataset includes National Survey of College Graduates assets for 2021.

The number of postsecondary graduates, by institution type, International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED), Classification of Instructional Programs, Primary groupings (CIP_PG), status of student in Canada and gender.

Statistics on postsecondary graduates, including the number of graduates, the percentage of female graduates and age at graduation, are presented by the location of residence at the time of the interview and the level of study. Estimates are available at five-year intervals.

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.

Dataset from Singapore Department of Statistics. For more information, visit https://data.gov.sg/datasets/d_f31a2d01de1dcdc890c7c2c64fe9472b/view

Total number of students in colleges and universities in Taiwan