Taipei: 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.

According to Focus Taiwan, MOE statistics reveal that Taiwan currently has 139 universities and colleges in the 2025-2026 academic year, comprising 47 public and 92 private institutions. The total number of tertiary institutions has decreased by 13 in comparison to five years ago, with one public and 12 private institutions closing.

The ministry reported that there are 1.057 million tertiary students in the 2025-2026 academic year, including 208,000 postgraduate students and 849,000 undergraduates. This represents a decline of approximately 295,000 students, or 21.8 percent, since the 2011-2012 academic year. The decrease is primarily attributed to a reduction in undergraduate enrollment, which fell by about 248,000, or 25.1 percent.

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

The MOE detailed that 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 comprehensive 381-page report of the 2025-2026 academic year was released online on April 29 by the MOE's Department of Statistics, which has been compiling annual statistics since 1988.