Business degree enrollment varies substantially by study level and region. The AACSB 2025 State of Business Education Report records enrollment at AACSB-accredited schools in the Americas, Asia Pacific, and EMEA from the 2018–19 academic year through 2023–24. The figures below distinguish undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral business students and keep each measurement period explicit.
Table of contents
- Undergraduate enrollment in the Americas
- Undergraduate enrollment in Asia Pacific
- Undergraduate enrollment in EMEA
- Master’s enrollment in the Americas
- Master’s enrollment in Asia Pacific and EMEA
- Doctoral and research business enrollment
Undergraduate enrollment in the Americas
The Americas had the largest undergraduate business enrollment figures in every reported academic year. AACSB-accredited schools enrolled 708,000 undergraduate business students in 2018–19, followed by 695,000 in 2019–20 and 696,000 in 2020–21. Enrollment then reached 700,000 in 2021–22, 709,000 in 2022–23, and 728,000 in 2023–24.
| Academic year | Undergraduate business students | Region |
|---|---|---|
| 2018–19 | 708,000 | Americas |
| 2019–20 | 695,000 | Americas |
| 2020–21 | 696,000 | Americas |
| 2021–22 | 700,000 | Americas |
| 2022–23 | 709,000 | Americas |
| 2023–24 | 728,000 | Americas |
The lowest reported Americas figure in this series was 695,000 in 2019–20. The highest was 728,000 in 2023–24. These are enrollment counts for AACSB-accredited schools, rather than a count of every business program or institution in the region. Source: 2025 State of Business Education Report.
Undergraduate enrollment in Asia Pacific
Asia Pacific undergraduate business enrollment increased in each year of the reported series. AACSB-accredited schools enrolled 253,000 undergraduate business students in 2018–19 and 256,000 in 2019–20. The count rose to 264,000 in 2020–21, 269,000 in 2021–22, 273,000 in 2022–23, and 276,000 in 2023–24.
The six reported Asia Pacific measurements are:
- 253,000 students in 2018–19.
- 256,000 students in 2019–20.
- 264,000 students in 2020–21.
- 269,000 students in 2021–22.
- 273,000 students in 2022–23.
- 276,000 students in 2023–24.
The 2023–24 figure is the highest Asia Pacific undergraduate count in the available series. As with the Americas figures, the measurement covers AACSB-accredited schools and should not be read as a census of all higher-education providers in Asia Pacific. Source: 2025 State of Business Education Report.
Undergraduate enrollment in EMEA
EMEA undergraduate enrollment remained within a relatively narrow range across the six academic years. AACSB-accredited schools enrolled 185,000 undergraduate business students in 2018–19, then 193,000 in 2019–20 and 186,000 in 2020–21. The count was 181,000 in 2021–22, 182,000 in 2022–23, and 180,000 in 2023–24.
The highest EMEA undergraduate figure was 193,000 in 2019–20. The lowest was 180,000 in 2023–24. The source reports these as regional enrollment counts for AACSB-accredited schools, so the figures describe the participating accredited-school population rather than all undergraduate business students across EMEA. Source: 2025 State of Business Education Report.
Master’s enrollment in the Americas
Master’s business enrollment in the Americas was 172,000 students in 2018–19 and 170,000 in 2019–20. It rose to 175,000 in 2020–21 and 177,000 in 2021–22. The count then reached 195,000 in 2022–23 and 197,000 in 2023–24.
| Academic year | Master’s business students | Region |
|---|---|---|
| 2018–19 | 172,000 | Americas |
| 2019–20 | 170,000 | Americas |
| 2020–21 | 175,000 | Americas |
| 2021–22 | 177,000 | Americas |
| 2022–23 | 195,000 | Americas |
| 2023–24 | 197,000 | Americas |
Within this series, the 2019–20 count was the lowest and the 2023–24 count was the highest. The figures identify master’s business students specifically; they are not combined totals for all graduate business education. Source: 2025 State of Business Education Report.
Master’s enrollment in Asia Pacific and EMEA
Asia Pacific master’s business enrollment was 73,000 students in 2018–19, 80,000 in 2019–20, and 84,000 in 2020–21. It reached 85,000 in 2021–22, 87,000 in 2022–23, and 90,000 in 2023–24.
EMEA recorded 191,000 master’s business students in 2018–19 and 176,000 in 2019–20. The reported count was 186,000 in 2020–21, 200,000 in 2021–22, 194,000 in 2022–23, and 189,000 in 2023–24.
| Region | 2018–19 | 2020–21 | 2023–24 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asia Pacific | 73,000 | 84,000 | 90,000 |
| EMEA | 191,000 | 186,000 | 189,000 |
Asia Pacific’s reported master’s enrollment was highest in 2023–24. EMEA’s highest figure in the six-year series was 200,000 in 2021–22. The different regional patterns show why academic year and geography need to remain attached to each enrollment statistic. Source: 2025 State of Business Education Report.
Doctoral and research business enrollment
Doctoral business enrollment was reported separately for the three regions. In 2018–19, AACSB-accredited schools enrolled 6,500 doctoral business students in the Americas, 6,800 in Asia Pacific, and 9,700 in EMEA. In 2019–20, the corresponding counts were 6,700, 7,100, and 9,800.
For 2020–21, the Americas had 7,000 doctoral business students, Asia Pacific had 7,600, and EMEA had 9,700. In 2021–22, the reported counts were 7,000 in the Americas, 7,500 in Asia Pacific, and 10,400 in EMEA.
The 2022–23 figures were 6,700 doctoral business students in the Americas, 7,600 in Asia Pacific, and 10,300 in EMEA. In 2023–24, the Americas had 6,900, Asia Pacific had 7,900, and EMEA had 10,500.
| Academic year | Americas | Asia Pacific | EMEA |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018–19 | 6,500 | 6,800 | 9,700 |
| 2019–20 | 6,700 | 7,100 | 9,800 |
| 2020–21 | 7,000 | 7,600 | 9,700 |
| 2021–22 | 7,000 | 7,500 | 10,400 |
| 2022–23 | 6,700 | 7,600 | 10,300 |
| 2023–24 | 6,900 | 7,900 | 10,500 |
EMEA had the largest doctoral enrollment count in every reported academic year. Its highest figure was 10,500 in 2023–24. The highest reported Americas count was 7,000, reached in both 2020–21 and 2021–22. Asia Pacific’s highest count was 7,900 in 2023–24. Source: 2025 State of Business Education Report.
The doctoral figures are enrollment counts, not measures of completed degrees, research output, or faculty demand. They also belong to the same AACSB-accredited-school scope as the undergraduate and master’s figures. Keeping that scope consistent makes the regional comparisons clearer while avoiding a broader claim about every business research degree program worldwide.
Reading the enrollment series by degree level
The reported undergraduate counts are larger than the corresponding master’s counts in all three regions and all six academic years. In the Americas, undergraduate enrollment was 708,000 in 2018–19 compared with 172,000 master’s students. In Asia Pacific, the comparable counts were 253,000 and 73,000. In EMEA, they were 185,000 and 191,000, making EMEA the exception in that first-year comparison: its reported master’s count was above its undergraduate count.
The same relationship changed over time in EMEA. In 2023–24, EMEA had 180,000 undergraduate business students and 189,000 master’s students. The Americas reported 728,000 undergraduates and 197,000 master’s students in that year, while Asia Pacific reported 276,000 undergraduates and 90,000 master’s students. These comparisons use separate enrollment categories and should not be combined into a single undifferentiated total.
Doctoral enrollment was much smaller than undergraduate or master’s enrollment in every regional series. The highest doctoral count in the data was 10,500 in EMEA in 2023–24. The highest master’s count was 200,000 in EMEA in 2021–22, and the highest undergraduate count was 728,000 in the Americas in 2023–24. This difference in scale matters when interpreting the term “business research degree”: doctoral enrollment represents a distinct, smaller segment of business education rather than the whole business-degree population.
The academic-year labels also matter. A value for 2018–19 describes that academic year, while 2023–24 describes a later academic year; neither label identifies a single calendar date. The source presents regional counts for AACSB-accredited schools, so readers comparing these figures with national enrollment releases should check whether those other sources use the same accreditation scope, geography, degree definitions, and academic-year convention. Source: 2025 State of Business Education Report.