Entry rates into higher education
Published
1. Main facts and figures
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pupils from the Chinese ethnic group had the highest entry rate into higher education from 2006 to 2021
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in every year from 2007 to 2021, white pupils had the lowest entry rate into higher education
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in 2021, the entry rates for all ethnic groups were higher than in the previous year – they were also higher than in 2006, the first year covered by this data
2. Things you need to know
What the data measures
The data measures the percentage of 18 year olds who got a higher education place in the UK, by ethnicity (known as the 'entry rate').
The data includes pupils from state schools in England who applied to full time undergraduate courses through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS).
Percentages are rounded to 1 decimal place.
Not included in the data
The data does not take into account pupils' academic results at A level (or equivalent), which can affect their likelihood of going into higher education.
See the average score of students taking A levels and other qualifications, by ethnicity.
The ethnic groups used in the data
Data is shown for the following 6 aggregated ethnic groups:
- Asian
- black
- Chinese
- mixed
- white
- other
This means estimates are shown for these groups as a whole. This is to make sure group sizes are big enough to make reliable generalisations.
Methodology
The percentages on this page are estimates based on data from schools and UCAS. Every student’s details need to match fully across the different databases or they are not included. This means the estimates on this page are likely to be lower than the real value.
3. By ethnicity over time
| time | Asian | Black | Chinese | Mixed | White | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | % | % | % | % | |
| 2006 | 34.5 | 21.6 | 53.6 | 22.9 | 21.8 | 27.0 |
| 2007 | 34.6 | 23.1 | 52.8 | 24.3 | 22.2 | 27.1 |
| 2008 | 35.7 | 25.7 | 52.0 | 25.0 | 23.5 | 27.9 |
| 2009 | 36.1 | 27.0 | 52.6 | 25.7 | 24.1 | 27.8 |
| 2010 | 35.0 | 28.4 | 52.6 | 25.6 | 24.2 | 27.8 |
| 2011 | 37.0 | 31.7 | 60.1 | 28.9 | 25.8 | 30.5 |
| 2012 | 36.1 | 31.4 | 57.1 | 27.8 | 24.7 | 30.6 |
| 2013 | 38.6 | 34.7 | 57.4 | 29.2 | 26.1 | 32.0 |
| 2014 | 39.8 | 36.0 | 59.3 | 31.0 | 27.3 | 34.3 |
| 2015 | 42.3 | 38.4 | 61.0 | 32.3 | 27.9 | 36.8 |
| 2016 | 44.1 | 39.1 | 60.9 | 33.4 | 28.9 | 38.0 |
| 2017 | 45.8 | 40.3 | 63.0 | 34.0 | 29.3 | 40.1 |
| 2018 | 46.7 | 41.1 | 66.2 | 33.9 | 29.5 | 40.1 |
| 2019 | 50.3 | 44.5 | 68.0 | 35.5 | 30.3 | 43.3 |
| 2020 | 53.1 | 47.5 | 71.7 | 39.0 | 32.6 | 46.6 |
| 2021 | 54.9 | 48.6 | 72.1 | 40.8 | 33.3 | 48.1 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity over time’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity over time’ (CSV)
Summary of Entry rates into higher education By ethnicity over time Summary
The data shows that:
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in 2021, 72.1% of pupils from the Chinese ethnic group got a higher education place in the UK – the highest entry rate out of all ethnic groups
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33.3% of white pupils got a higher education place – the lowest entry rate
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pupils from the Chinese ethnic group had the highest entry rate every year between 2006 and 2021
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white pupils had the lowest entry rate between 2007 and 2021
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in 2021, the entry rates for all ethnic groups were higher than in the previous year – they were also higher than in 2006 (the first year covered by this data)
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between 2006 and 2021, black pupils had the biggest entry rate increase out of all ethnic groups, from 21.6% to 48.6%
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white pupils had the smallest increase, from 21.8% to 33.3%
4. Data sources
Source
Type of data
Administrative data
Type of statistic
Non-official statistics
Publisher
Universities and Colleges Admissions Service
Publication frequency
Yearly
Purpose of data source
The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) End of Cycle Report provides data about participation and progression in higher education admissions.
5. Download the data
This file includes the following variables: measure, time, time_type, ethnicity, ethnicity_type, geography, value, value_type, numerator and denominator.