Entry rates into higher education
Published
1. Main facts and figures
- in 2022, the percentage of black 18 year olds who were accepted to higher education in the UK (the ‘entry rate’) was higher than in 2021 – for all other ethnic groups, the rate was lower
- for every ethnic group, the entry rate was higher in 2022 than in 2006
- people from the Chinese ethnic group had the highest entry rate in every year from 2006 to 2022
- white people had the lowest entry rate in every year from 2007 to 2022
2. Things you need to know
What the data measures
The data measures the percentage of 18 year olds who were accepted to higher education in the UK (the 'entry rate'), by ethnicity.
The data includes pupils from state schools in England – those funded directly by the government or their local authority – who applied to full time undergraduate courses through UCAS (the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service).
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) and other pupil characteristics, which can affect their likelihood of going into higher education.
You can 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 ethnic groups
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.
In the data file
Download the data to see estimates by ethnicity and gender.
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 |
| 2022 | 53.9 | 50.6 | 70.7 | 39.3 | 32.2 | 47.8 |
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, in 2022:
- 70.7% of 18 year olds from the Chinese ethnic group were accepted to higher education in the UK – the highest entry rate out of all ethnic groups
- 32.2% of white people were accepted to higher education – the lowest entry rate
- the entry rate for black people was higher than in 2021 – the rate was lower for all other ethnic groups
- the entry rate for every ethnic group was higher than in 2006 (the first year covered by this data)
Between 2006 and 2022:
- people from the Chinese ethnic group had the highest entry rate every year, and white people had the lowest (except for 2006)
- the biggest increase in the entry rate was for black people, from 21.6% to 50.6%
- the smallest increase was for white people, from 21.8% to 32.2%
4. Data sources
Source
Type of data
Administrative data
Type of statistic
Non-official statistics
Publisher
Universities and Colleges Admissions Service
Note on corrections or updates
The NPD ethnic group entry rates were updated in the UCAS 2022 end of cycle data on 19 June 2023.
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, geography_type, gender, age, value, value_type, numerator and denominator.