Norway: Tertiary education, academic staff (% female)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Norway's tertiary education, academic staff (% female) rose 0.36 percentage points on 2023 (from 50.24% to 50.6%).

Across the 27 yearly changes before that (1977 to 2023), the average change was +1.13 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.47 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 11.62 percentage points in 1991 and the biggest yearly fall was 0.08 percentage points in 2000. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2015 to 2024 the straight-line trend is upward, about 0.66 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 97% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

A straight-line projection, tested first

Extending that straight line gives about 52.19% for 2027. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2022 to 2024 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 0.87%, against 1.48% for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.

See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.

How it compares

In 2024, Norway had the 19th highest value of the 61 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Norway in the 2024 ranking

• Finland — 16th of 61: 53.21%
• Bulgaria — 17th of 61: 52.32%
• Viet Nam — 18th of 61: 51.1%
• Andorra — 20th of 61: 50.48%
• Serbia — 21st of 61: 50.2%
• Netherlands — 22nd of 61: 49.91%

What this measures

Tertiary education, academic staff (% female) is the share of female academic staff in tertiary education.

Limitations: The indicator measures the level of gender representation in the teaching profession, rather than the effectiveness and quality of teaching.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 34 values

Tertiary education, academic staff (% female) in nearby economies

• Albania — 58.85% (2024)
• Andorra — 50.48% (2024)
• Armenia — 63.47% (2024)
• Austria — 45.74% (2024)
• Azerbaijan — 62.01% (2024)
• Belarus — 61.56% (2024)
• Belgium — 50.36% (2023)
• Bosnia and Herzegovina — 46.78% (2023)
• Bulgaria — 52.32% (2024)
• Croatia — 51.15% (2023)

More education data for Norway

• Primary school starting age (years) — 6 (2025)
• Primary education, duration (years) — 7 (2025)
• Lower secondary school starting age (years) — 13 (2025)
• Secondary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• Primary education, pupils — 434,422 (2024)
• Secondary education, pupils — 469,508 (2024)
• School enrollment, primary (gross), gender parity index (GPI) — 1 (2020)
• School enrollment, primary and secondary (gross), gender parity index (GPI) — 0.98 (2020)
• School enrollment, secondary (gross), gender parity index (GPI) — 0.95 (2020)
• Government expenditure on education, total (% of GDP)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Norway's tertiary education, academic staff (% female)?

50.6% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1971?

It is up 34.05 percentage points from 16.55% in 1971. The highest value was 50.6% in 2024 and the lowest 14.93% in 1973.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SE.TER.TCHR.FE.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), uri: https://databrowser.uis.unesco.org/resources, note: The data are obtained through the UIS API. Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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