By Chung Ah-young
Staff Reporter



Five out of ten women aged between 18-21 attend universities, statistics showed Wednesday.
According to the National Statistical Office (NSO), the number of female university students reached to 675,000 among the 1.3 million population of women aged between 18-21 last year, hitting an all-time high.

The proportion of female college students among the total female population of that age group has more than tripled to 50.7 percent last year from 15.2 percent in 1985.

Overall student gender demographics at colleges have shifted greatly over the last two decades, indicating an improvement for women who are getting more chances for equal education.

The proportion has been risen from 16.7 percent in 1990 to 24.2 percent in 1995, 37.5 percent in 2000, 39.6 percent in 2001, 42.5 percent in 2002, 46.5 percent in 2003.

Even though the women’s educational standard has improved, the ratio still lags behind the men’s ratio.

The proportion of male university students in the whole male population at the same age has also hit the all-time high, 79.9 percent last year.

The ratio of male university students among the same male age group has also been on the rise from 38.9 percent in 1985, 39.4 percent in 1990, 48.7 percent in 1995, 63.5 percent in 2000, 65.5 percent in 2001, 68.7 percent in 2002 and 73.8 percent in 2003 to 79.9 percent last year.

It means that five out of ten women aged between 18-21 attend the universities while eight out of ten men at the same age are university students.

``Recently, our nation’s higher educational enrollment rate has been hovering around the average level of other advanced countries,’’ an NSO official said.

According to the statistics released by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the enrollment rate of Korean students receiving higher education recorded 85 percent last year, the highest in the world.

Japan’s enrollment rate of students attending higher educational institutes of colleges or above was 51 percent with Australia at 74 percent, the United States at 83 percent, France at 56 percent, Germany at 51 percent and Britain at 64 percent.

Even among advanced countries in education, Norway’s enrollment rate of students at higher educational institutions was 81 percent with Sweden standing at 83 percent and Demark at 67 percent.

Only Finland recorded 88 percent, surpassing South Korea’s enrollment rate.

chungay@koreatimes.co.kr