Trends & data
International higher education in figures: student mobility, access in Africa, brain drain and quality assurance, from UNESCO, OECD and IIE data.
- Brain Drain or Brain Circulation? What Happens When Graduates Leave
The debate over skilled emigration from developing countries: where the term brain drain came from, why graduates leave, the evidence for brain gain and diaspora effects, the WHO code on recruiting health workers, and how universities and partnerships try to keep talent connected.
- Higher Education in Africa: Access, Growth and the Partnerships Shaping It
The state of higher education in sub-Saharan Africa: enrolment compared with the world average (UNESCO), the pressure of a young population, funding and research capacity, continental initiatives such as the Pan African University and the World Bank's Africa Centers of Excellence, and the role of international partners.
- International Student Numbers: Who Studies Where, and How the Picture Is Changing
The data on internationally mobile students: global totals from UNESCO, the leading destinations, Open Doors figures for the US (2023/24), the rise of India as the top sending country, and the caps and restrictions introduced by Canada, Australia and the UK since 2024.
- Quality Assurance in Higher Education: How Universities Are Accredited Around the World
How university quality is checked: internal and external quality assurance, accreditation in the US (CHEA and the Department of Education), the European Standards and Guidelines and EQAR, the African Standards and Guidelines, INQAAHE, national councils, and what it means for students and partnerships.
