Countries in Africa by university enrolment
Students in universities and other tertiary education, as a share of the people of the five years after secondary school. Older students count too, so it can pass 100%. 29 countries in Africa, highest first. World Bank, mostly 2024
Median country
12.3%
half above, half below| # | Country | % gross | Year | Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Algeria | 54.4% | 2024 | Northern Africa |
| 2 |  Morocco | 48.2% | 2024 | Northern Africa |
| 3 |  Mauritius | 45.8% | 2024 | Eastern Africa |
| 4 |  Tunisia | 38.1% | 2023 | Northern Africa |
| 5 |  Egypt | 38.0% | 2025 | Northern Africa |
| 6 |  Namibia | 26.1% | 2022 | Southern Africa |
| 7 |  South Africa | 23.5% | 2023 | Southern Africa |
| 8 |  Botswana | 21.4% | 2024 | Southern Africa |
| 9 |  Ghana | 21.3% | 2024 | Western Africa |
| 10 |  Cameroon | 16.7% | 2024 | Middle Africa |
| 11 |  Senegal | 15.3% | 2024 | Western Africa |
| 12 |  Togo | 14.9% | 2020 | Western Africa |
| 13 |  Seychelles | 14.5% | 2024 | Eastern Africa |
| 14 |  Gambia | 13.5% | 2024 | Western Africa |
| 15 |  Côte d'Ivoire | 12.3% | 2024 | Western Africa |
| =16 |  Congo | 10.4% | 2023 | Middle Africa |
| =16 |  Kenya | 10.4% | 2024 | Eastern Africa |
| 18 |  Benin | 10.2% | 2022 | Western Africa |
| =19 |  Angola | 10.0% | 2024 | Middle Africa |
| =19 |  Burkina Faso | 10.0% | 2024 | Western Africa |
| 21 |  Rwanda | 9.4% | 2024 | Eastern Africa |
| 22 |  Zimbabwe | 7.7% | 2024 | Eastern Africa |
| =23 |  Burundi | 6.4% | 2025 | Eastern Africa |
| =23 |  DR Congo | 6.4% | 2020 | Middle Africa |
| 25 |  Madagascar | 6.1% | 2023 | Eastern Africa |
| 26 |  Mauritania | 6.0% | 2020 | Western Africa |
| 27 |  Chad | 4.4% | 2020 | Middle Africa |
| 28 |  Tanzania | 4.0% | 2024 | Eastern Africa |
| 29 |  Malawi | 2.7% | 2022 | Eastern Africa |
No World Bank figure for 25 countries: Cabo Verde, Central African Republic, Comoros, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, São Tomé and Principe, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Uganda, Zambia.
Questions
- Which country in Africa has the highest university enrolment?
- Algeria has the highest university enrolment in Africa: 54.4% gross enrolment (2024). Next come Morocco (48.2% gross enrolment) and Mauritius (45.8% gross enrolment).
- Which country in Africa has the lowest university enrolment?
- Malawi, with 2.7% gross enrolment (2022).
- What is the typical university enrolment of a country in Africa?
- The median of the 29 countries in Africa is 12.3% gross enrolment: half are above it, half below. The median, not the average, because a few countries at the top would drag an average far above almost everyone.
- Where do the figures come from?
- Students in universities and other tertiary education, as a share of the people of the five years after secondary school. Older students count too, so it can pass 100%. Source: World Bank, mostly 2024. Only independent states are ranked; territories are listed separately. A country’s continent follows Natural Earth; the handful of island states it files under the open ocean are placed by their UN subregion.
Source: World Bank (CC BY 4.0). Figures more than 5 years older than the newest are left out rather than shown beside current ones. Countries sharing a value share a rank. All sources.