If you drop a pin on the globe and ask, “What share of young adults enroll in college or university here?,” the answer swings wildly. Wealthier countries tend to have far higher participation; poorer countries, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, tend to have low participation because of cost, capacity, competition for spots, and the need for young adults to work. That’s not a reflection of ability. It’s a reflection of access.

How do statisticians measure this? A common yardstick is the tertiary gross enrollment ratio (GER). It counts everyone enrolled in post-secondary—of any age—divided by the size of the typical college-age population. Because it’s “gross,” the ratio can go over 100% in places where lots of older or part-time students study. It’s not perfect, but it’s the most widely used apples-to-apples metric across countries.

Globally, tertiary enrollment has grown fast over the last two decades, but the gaps are still big. For context, the global tertiary GER has hovered around the low-40s in recent years, while Sub-Saharan Africa sits in the single digits to low teens—a stark reminder of the access challenge.

Typical college-attendance percentages by market

Below are ballpark “typical” rates (best viewed as indicative medians or mid-range norms, not exact to the decimal), organized from greatest to least. For the UK, Canada, and the United States I use recent country-level estimates; for the European sub-regions I summarize typical ranges from country distributions; for low-income countries I anchor on Sub-Saharan and low-income patterns.

• United Kingdom — ~80%
• United States — ~79%
• Canada — ~76%
• Northern Europe — ~75% (typical) across countries such as Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland (countries in this block commonly sit in the 70–90% band).
• Western Europe — ~74% (typical) across countries such as Germany, France, Netherlands, Belgium, and Austria (often mid-70s to mid-80s, with some higher or lower outliers).
• Southern Europe — ~72% (typical) across countries such as Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Greece (note that Greece’s gross ratio can exceed 100% due to the gross calculation, but a mid-70s “typical” fits the region overall).
• Eastern Europe — ~70% (typical) across Poland, Czechia, Hungary, Romania, etc. (commonly high-60s to low-80s, with country-by-country variance).
• Low-income countries — ~10–20% (typical), with Sub-Saharan Africa near ~9%.

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The 20 most popular majors globally (and what jobs grads actually do)

Let’s talk majors. Across countries, degree names differ and many systems group programs into broad fields (like “business, administration, and law”). Still, the same clusters show up again and again. For each of the majors below, I’ll list common first jobs—including roles outside the major—because in the real world, skills transfer and employers hire for potential.

• Business Administration / Management
  Grads show up everywhere: operations, sales development, customer success, marketing, HR, and management trainee programs in retail, logistics, and tech.
• Accounting
  Classic feeder to audit, tax, corporate accounting, and financial reporting; also common in banking operations, revenue ops, and compliance.
• Finance
  Financial analyst, commercial banking, credit risk, corporate FP&A, insurance underwriting, and entry roles in wealth management.
• Economics
  Data and policy analysis, consulting, banking, market research, business intelligence; lots of econ grads head into strategy roles.
• Marketing
  Brand and product marketing, digital marketing, social media, paid media, content, customer lifecycle, and growth roles in startups.
• Computer Science / Information Technology
  Software engineering, QA, data engineering, IT support, DevOps, and product analytics; some grads head into technical sales.
• Data Science / Statistics / Applied Math
  Data analyst, junior data scientist, risk analytics, operations research, revenue analytics, and growth experimentation.
• General Engineering (mechanical, electrical, industrial, civil)
  Manufacturing/process engineering, quality, supply chain, field engineering, construction management, and product development.
• Information Systems / MIS
  Business analyst, systems analyst, implementation consultant, product operations, and CRM/ERP administration.
• Nursing
  Registered nurse roles across hospitals and clinics; also care coordination, community health, and public health programs.
• Medicine / Pre-Med / Health Professions
  Clinical pathways (where medicine is a first degree), allied health (physiotherapy, radiography), health tech support, and healthcare operations.
• Public Health
  Health program coordination, epidemiology assistant, community outreach, non-profit roles, and health data analysis.
• Biology / Biomedical Sciences
  Lab tech, clinical research coordinator, biotech manufacturing, medical device QA, and—yes—plenty move into sales and consulting.
• Chemistry
  Lab analysis, quality control, materials and coatings, pharmaceuticals manufacturing, and environmental testing.
• Physics
  Data and modeling roles, engineering support, R&D assistant roles, and a healthy share in finance/quant or software.
• Education
  Teaching, learning support, ed-tech, training and development, and student services; some move into HR or community work.
• Psychology
  Counseling and social services tracks (where licensed), but also recruiting, sales, customer success, UX research, and HR.
• Law / Legal Studies
  Paralegal or legal assistant (in systems where law is an undergrad), compliance, policy, contract review, and corporate governance.
• Political Science / International Relations
  Public policy, NGOs, communications, business development, recruiting, and graduate pathways to law or public administration.
• Communications / Media / Journalism
  PR, social media, content creation, employer branding, internal comms, and customer marketing; many pivot into sales.

Why these? Because in large datasets across many countries, business-type programs are consistently the single largest block, with engineering, health, and social sciences forming the next tier. The exact rank order shifts by country, but the cluster is remarkably stable.

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The 10 most popular majors by market

Below are practical, current-state snapshots you can use to compare regions. They blend official field-of-study summaries (where available) with on-the-ground enrollment patterns. Degree names vary, so I group where appropriate (e.g., “business, administration, and law” is often one bucket in European stats). Think of these as “top-ten families of majors” you’ll see most often in each market.

Low-income countries (global “low-income” grouping)

• Business / Administration / Commerce
• Teacher Education / Education
• Accounting
• Nursing / Health Professions
• Economics
• Civil / General Engineering
• Information Technology / Computer Science
• Agriculture / Agribusiness
• Public Administration / Development Studies
• Medicine (in systems where medicine begins at the undergraduate level)

Why these? Capacity tends to prioritize teacher training, health, and applied business. Engineering and IT are growing but constrained by faculty and lab resources; agriculture remains important in many economies. Overall access is still limited—Sub-Saharan Africa’s tertiary GER sits near 9%—so spots are concentrated in workforce-critical programs.

Northern Europe (Nordics)

• Business, Administration, and Law
• Engineering / Manufacturing / Construction
• Health and Welfare (including Nursing)
• Education
• Information and Communication Technologies (ICT/CS)
• Social Sciences / Journalism / Information
• Natural Sciences (math, physics, chemistry)
• Arts and Humanities
• Economics (often inside “business” at some schools)
• Environmental / Sustainability programs

Nordic systems are broad-access and high-quality, with steady interest in engineering, ICT, and health alongside strong social sectors. Overall tertiary participation in this block is high by global standards (often 70–90% GER, country-by-country).

Eastern Europe

• Engineering / Manufacturing / Construction
• Business / Administration / Law
• Medicine and Health Professions
• ICT / Computer Science
• Education
• Economics
• Law (as a standalone track)
• Social Sciences
• Agriculture
• Architecture

These systems typically retain strong engineering traditions and a sizable medical/health footprint. Business and law have expanded significantly since the 1990s. Participation rates vary but commonly land from high-60s to low-80s in GER.

Western Europe

• Business, Administration, and Law
• Engineering / Manufacturing / Construction
• Health and Welfare
• Social Sciences / Journalism / Information
• Arts and Humanities
• Computer Science / ICT
• Education
• Economics
• Natural Sciences
• Architecture / Design

Across Western Europe, business-type fields are generally the largest, followed by engineering and health, with country-level flavor (Germany heavier in engineering; France very large overall).

Southern Europe

• Business, Administration, and Law
• Health and Welfare (including Nursing)
• Engineering / Construction
• Law (standalone)
• Social Sciences
• Education
• Architecture / Urban Planning
• Economics
• Computer Science / ICT
• Tourism / Hospitality

Southern systems mirror the broader EU mix but add relatively more law, architecture, and tourism in some countries. Note: because the tertiary metric is gross, Greece can show very high ratios even if the regional “typical” sits lower.

United Kingdom

• Business / Management
• Nursing and Health Professions
• Psychology
• Computer Science / Data / AI
• Law (LLB)
• Engineering (mechanical, electrical, civil)
• Biological Sciences
• Education
• Economics
• Creative Arts / Design

UK participation is high (around ~80% gross). Student demand has tilted toward health, business, CS, and psychology, with law persistently popular.

Canada

• Business, Management, and Public Administration
• Social and Behavioral Sciences
• Health Professions (including Nursing)
• Engineering
• Biological and Biomedical Sciences
• Computer and Information Sciences
• Education
• Psychology
• Humanities
• Mathematics and Statistics

Canada’s field mix shows business and sciences leading, with engineering and CS rising alongside health. Recent participation sits in the mid-70s on a gross basis.

United States

• Business
• Health Professions (including Nursing)
• Social Sciences and History
• Biological and Biomedical Sciences
• Psychology
• Engineering
• Computer and Information Sciences
• Communications / Journalism
• Education
• Visual and Performing Arts

In the U.S., a majority of bachelor’s degrees cluster in business, health, social sciences, biology, psychology, and engineering, with CS continuing to surge. Tertiary participation is high on a gross basis, driven by both traditional and returning students.

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How to use this if you’re early in your career

Two quick takeaways if you’re choosing a path:

First, don’t fixate on major equals job title. Hiring managers look for signals: can you learn quickly, write clearly, analyze a messy spreadsheet, show up reliably, and make customers happy? Business majors land in product roles. Psychology majors become outstanding recruiters and UX researchers. Engineers switch to operations and crush it. If your field builds portable skills—analysis, communication, teamwork—you’ll be competitive in more roles than your degree title suggests.

Second, understand your market. If you plan to work in Canada, it’s useful to know business and sciences dominate. If your dream is Berlin or Barcelona, that EU picture—business/administration, engineering, and health as the big blocks—helps you predict where internships and entry-level openings cluster. And if you’re in a low-income country with fewer seats, the presence of teacher training, nursing, and business isn’t a limitation—it’s a signal of where employers need talent most right now.

Final word

Access to higher ed is expanding, but not evenly. Your job is to play the field that exists while you build the one you want. Pick a program that teaches you to think and produce. Stack internships, projects, and part-time work so your resume tells a story of outcomes. And remember: the degree is a door opener, not a destiny. The rest is you.