By Joseph George
Enrolment in GCC higher education is growing steadily, foreign universities are opening campuses, and governments are rewriting the investment rules. A shortage of qualified academics remains the sector’s biggest constraint
Dubai, Sept 28, 2026: Enrolment in Gulf universities is rising steadily. The bigger change is in who is building campuses and under what rules. Foreign universities are opening in Riyadh, Dubai keeps adding international providers, and governments are setting the terms for investors. The open question is whether the region can hire enough academics to teach the students it is making room for.
Higher education already accounts for a large share of learners in the region. According to a 2025 report by Alpen Capital, the size of the higher education sector is estimated to be about 2.4 million students, constituting about 16.7% of the total student population in the region. That is roughly one in six of all learners in the region, from school to university. “This segment has been growing steadily, and we expect this trend to continue,” says Amjad AlOmari, Senior Director at Alpen Capital.
National figures point the same way. The UAE has 218,000 students across 103 higher education institutions, with 64,859 new enrolments in the past academic year, according to the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research. In Oman, first-round study offers for 2026–27 rose 20% to 33,031, and available places grew 17% to 34,113.
