Only 22 % of Ibero -American university students attend Science and Technology Studies

They are data from a report by the Ibero-American Observatory of Science, Technology and Society (OCTS-OEI) based on a study that the Ibero-American Network of Higher Education Indicators (Indices) carried out in 2024.

According to a statement from the Organization of Ibero -American States (OEI), Ibero -American Higher Education reached in 2022 the 34.1 million students of degree and postgraduate education.

Among those enrolled in Stem, Most (14 %) opted for engineering, and only 5 % for information and communication technologies (ICT) and 4 % by natural and mathematical sciences.

The report, ‘papers of the observatory’, also notes that there were no significant changes in the decade in terms of the persistence of the gender gap in Stem studies, where women represent 30 % of the total number of students.

In 2022, more than nine million Ibero -American students entered higher education, while graduates were almost five million, of which 70 % were licensed. The Stem studies were the ones that recorded less graduates, 20 % of the total.

The fields with the highest degree were Business Administration and Law (30 %) and Health and Welfare (16 %).

Although women were most of the graduates that year, 58 %, the OEI says that their presence decreases in advanced levels, especially in postgraduate degrees, where the gender gap remains a challenge in the region.

More enrolled in private centers

More than half of the students in higher studies are enrolled in private centers (52 %), although in countries such as Spain and Mexico, the majority studies in public, more than 60 %.

However, private registration has grown in the last decade, a trend that is also observed in Brazil, Peru, Honduras and Paraguay.

On the other hand, the academic staff of Latin America amounted to 1.7 million, 58 % in the public sector. 48 % of teachers are women; In countries such as Argentina, Cuba, Mexico, Panama and Uruguay, they constitute more than half of the academic staff.

In 2021, investment in higher education in Latin America was 132,000 million dollars PPC (purchasing power parity), with an 8 % growth compared to 2020.

However, this amount corresponded to 1.18 % of the regional PPC Gross Domestic Product, a decrease with respect to 1.27 % of the previous year.