Taiwan tertiary student population has fallen 21.8% in 14 years: MOE

Taipei, May 11 (CNA) Taiwan's tertiary student population fell to 1.057 million in the 2025-2026 academic year, a decline of about 295,000, or 21.8 percent, over the past 14 years, according to Ministry of Education (MOE) data.

Based on MOE statistics, Taiwan currently has 139 universities and colleges in the 2025-2026 academic year, including 47 public and 92 private institutions.

Compared with five years ago, the total number of tertiary institutions has fallen by 13, with one public and 12 private institutions closing.

The ministry said there are 1.057 million tertiary students in the 2025-2026 academic year, including 208,000 postgraduate students and 849,000 undergraduates.

Compared with the 2011-2012 academic year, total tertiary enrollment has dropped by about 295,000 over 14 years, or 21.8 percent.

The decline was mainly driven by undergraduate enrollment, which fell by about 248,000, or 25.1 percent, it said.

In terms of fields of study, students in science and technology accounted for 48.4 percent of total tertiary enrollment in the 2025-2026 academic year, followed by social sciences at 33.5 percent and humanities at 18.1 percent.

Compared with the 2020-2021 academic year, the share of science and technology students rose by 4.4 percentage points, while social sciences fell by 2.8 points and humanities declined by 1.6 points.

By detailed fields of study, the MOE said engineering accounted for the largest share of tertiary students in the 2025-2026 academic year, with 202,000 students.

This was followed by business and administration with 167,000 students, medicine and health with 106,000, hospitality and personal services with 86,000, and information and communications technology with 85,000.

The 381-page report of the 2025-2026 academic year was released online on April 29 by the MOE's Department of Statistics. According to its website, the annual statistics have been compiled since 1988.