Number of Female University Students and Faculty Members Slowly Rising in Japan

Japan’s numbers of women on university faculties and studying at institutions of higher learning continue to gradually increase.

Slowly Climbing

The number of female faculty members in Japan at national, other public, and private universities was 54,426 as of May 1, 2025, a record high. This was the finding of a survey published by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology. The percentage of female faculty members also reached a record high of 28.2%.

The percentage of female teachers was 45.0% in junior high schools (up 0.2 percentage points year on year), 34.1% in high schools (up 0.3 points), and 63.0% in special needs schools (up 0.1 points), each a record high. Meanwhile, the percentage of female teachers in elementary schools was 62.7%.

The total number of undergraduates in Japan was 2,646,000 (up 18,000 from the previous year), including 1,220,000 female students (up 15,000 from the previous year), both record highs. Women accounted for 46.1% of all undergraduates (up 0.2 points), maintaining the record high from the previous year.

The total number of graduate students was 277,148, up 5,500 from the previous year.

Gender Ratio Among University Undergraduate and Graduate Students in Japan

School Closures

Meanwhile, the number of students enrolled in compulsory elementary and junior high schools decreased to the lowest point since statistics were first kept in 1948. The number of elementary school students decreased by 129,000 year on year, to 5,812,000, while the number of junior high school students decreased by 36,000 to 3,105,000. Although there was an increase in the number of students attending combined elementary and junior high schools or in combined junior high and high schools, the overall trend was toward decline.

The number of elementary schools nationwide decreased by 215 year on year to 18,607, while the number of junior high schools decreased by 55 to 9,827.

Elementary and Junior High Schools in Japan

Data Sources

School survey (preliminary data) (Japanese) from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology for the academic year starting in April 2025.