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At a moment marked by both urgency and opportunity, the UNESCO International Institute for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNESCO IESALC) launched the first “Higher education global trends report: Towards inclusive, equitable and quality higher education in an internationally mobile landscape”. Beyond presenting a major global study, the event opened a timely dialogue on the future of higher education as the world approaches the final stretch toward achieving Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4).
This landmark report offers not only a snapshot of where we are but a canvas for where we must go, linking with UNESCO’s Transforming higher education road map. (…) Let us seize this moment to work together across institutions and the communities to ensure that higher education is a common good that leaves no one behind.
Mr. Qun ChenUNESCO Assistant Director-General for Education
Held on 12–13 May at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, the event brought together nearly 150 higher education stakeholders—including policymakers, university leaders, researchers, students, and data experts—to explore how evidence can support more equitable, resilient, and forward-looking systems.
A data-driven mapping of global higher education
The report draws on the UNESCO Higher Education Policy Observatory. This foundation enables a comprehensive analysis of key dimensions of higher education, including access, equity, governance, financing, quality assurance, digital transformation, and the academic workforce.
As emphasized during the event, reliable data is essential—not only to inform policymaking and guide investment, but to strengthen systems and encourage higher education mobility. However, participants underscored that data must ultimately translate into action to ensure that higher education systems remain inclusive, equitable, and responsive.
Key trends: Expansion with persistent inequalities
The report reveals both progress and persistent challenges. Global enrolment has grown significantly, reaching approximately 269 million students in 2023. Yet access remains uneven, particularly for vulnerable populations, while completion rates vary widely across regions.
International mobility continues to benefit fewer than 3% of students globally, with refugee access remaining particularly limited. At the same time, funding constraints—averaging just 0.8% of GDP globally—place increasing pressure on institutions to expand while maintaining quality.
Women outnumber men in higher education globally (114 women for every 100 men). However, women remain underrepresented at the doctoral level and hold only about one-quarter of senior academic leadership roles.
While refugee enrollment increased from 1% to 9% in six years, the recognition of qualifications remains a major barrier. Furthermore, as of 2025, only 1 in 5 universities has a formal policy regarding Artificial Intelligence.
These dynamics are unfolding alongside rapid technological change, which is transforming learning models while raising concerns around digital inequality and academic freedom. Still, positive developments are emerging, including stronger international cooperation, expanding participation in UNESCO recognition conventions, and improvements in quality assurance frameworks.
Building trust and strengthening global cooperation
The second panel focused on the global dimension of higher education transformation, emphasizing the importance of trust, student mobility, and system interoperability. In this context, data from the report shows that the number of students going abroad for higher education has more than tripled over the past two decades, rising from 2.1 million in 2000 to nearly 7.3 million in 2023. Yet mobility benefits only 3% of the global student population, with significant regional disparities. In this context, refugee students account for only 9%, a low number for a population that moves by need and not by choice.
Another positive aspect of internationalization has been the increase in intra-regional mobility, which is reshaping previous patterns and strengthening mobility within regions. In Latin America and the Caribbean, the share of intra-regional mobility rose from 24% to 43% between 2000 and 2022, with Argentina as the leading destination. Internationally mobile students from the Arab States are increasingly concentrated in the Gulf countries and Jordan, marking a shift away from the dominance of Western Europe and North America a decade earlier.
In this global context, the role of UNESCO’s global and regional conventions on the recognition of qualifications, along with networks of recognition authorities and the UNESCO Passport, was highlighted as critical to enabling fair, transparent, and inclusive student mobility. These mechanisms provide flexible pathways for recognizing qualifications for all, including refugees and displaced persons. Through these initiatives, UNESCO has fostered an ecosystem that facilitates multilateralism and collaboration among countries.
Among the barriers that hinder the development of student mobility in some regions are lack of funding, political conflicts, safety concerns, and family expectations—for instance, affecting female students in certain contexts. These challenges call for the implementation of equity mechanisms to support mobility, particularly for equity-deserving groups. However, identifying gaps in higher education systems and designing more inclusive and sustainable policies—beyond access—requires stronger global data systems to transform knowledge into action.
Rethinking relevance and system alignment
Discussions during the expert panels highlighted a central challenge: Eensuring that higher education systems are relevant and aligned with societal and economic realities. In some regions, rapid expansion has not been matched by labour market capacity, resulting in growing numbers of graduates without corresponding employment opportunities.
This context prompted critical reflection on how “relevance” is defined, and by whom. Participants stressed the need for closer alignment between education systems, economies, and societies—while also recognizing higher education’s broader role in fostering social cohesion and integration.
Addressing these challenges requires greater investment, stronger data systems, and enhanced international cooperation, alongside safeguarding academic freedom and institutional autonomy, which enable institutions to innovate and respond effectively.
read more: https://www.iesalc.unesco.org/en/articles/shaping-future-higher-education-launch-unescos-global-trends-report
