Higher education is defined as tertiary education that leads to a degree. Universities and colleges are institutions that offer a higher education degree, but the specific distinction can vary from country to country. With both the increasing number of higher education institutions, increasing number of students, and growing number of degrees on offer, some have started to criticize the higher education institutions for producing a range of workers that do not meet the demand on the labor market.
Students: women outnumber men
Looking at the students at universities and colleges, a larger share of the students in most countries are women. However, in most of the highest ranked universities in the world, there is a higher share of male students. Actually, there is a higher share of women than men in the world with a higher education, but despite this, women still earn less than men on average, and there are significantly fewer women than men in leadership positions.Many students choose to study abroad, either for one or two semesters or for a full degree. One or several years abroad can expand people's horizon, enable students to connect with people from around the world, and to study subjects and at a level that is not offered at home. The United States hosts the highest absolute number of international students, but in terms of share of the total higher education population, Australia is leading the charts.
