Across Asia, most higher education systems offer a wide range of programmes and pathways,
allowing students to obtain a Bachelor’s degree in three to five years or to complete an advanced
research degree (e.g. PhD) in five or six years. In light of this variation, this study calculates the gross
enrolment ratio for Bachelor’s programmes on the basis of a standard age range of five years that
follow the typical age of completion of secondary education. Similarly, the participation rate (gross
enrolment ratio) in graduate programmes (Master’s and doctoral) used in this study is calculated using
the population ten years after the typical age of completing secondary education.
The standard age range of five years is then used as the denominator to calculate enrolment ratios.
It is important to note that the gross enrolment ratio is useful to compare the volume of participation
in Bachelor’s programmes or in graduate (Master’s or doctoral) programmes. However, there are
limitations when comparing the actual population coverage across countries due to the diversity in
the duration of higher education programmes and the lack of typical ages of people who participate in
Master’s or doctoral programmes.