Leading modern universities are a far cry from the first universities of long ago when they were just becoming established as learning institutions. The first universities had difficulty surviving without donors, while today many of these institutions of higher learning are money-making machines. Some major universities have established separate university campuses to accommodate students and to offer a more diverse range of topics.

In this article, we will be exploring the Largest Universities in the World based on Enrollment.

Top 10 Largest Universities in the World By Enrollment (2023)

Below is a list of the largest universities in the world by Enrollment

1. Indira Gandhi National Open University

Largest Universities in the World – Indira Gandhi

Indira Gandhi National Open University, known as IGNOU, is a Central Open Learning University located in Maidan Garhi, New Delhi, India. Named after former Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi, the university was established in 1985 with a budget of ₹20 million, after the Parliament of India passed the Indira Gandhi National Open University Act, 1985 (IGNOU Act 1985).

IGNOU was founded to serve the Indian population by means of distance and open education, providing quality higher education opportunities to all segments of society.

IGNOU is run by the central government of India, and with a total active enrollment of over 4 million students, claims to be the largest university in the world.

2. Allama Iqbal Open University

Universities with the number of students in the World – Allama Iqbal

Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) is a public university in Islamabad, Pakistan. The university is the world’s second-largest institution of higher learning, with an annual enrollment of 1,121,038 students (as of 2010), the majority are women, and a course enrollment of 3,305,948 (2011).

The university has 44 regional campuses and centers throughout Pakistan including in Faisalabad Millat Road, Multan, Dera Ghazi Khan, Bahawalpur, and Rahim Yar Khan.

3. California Community Colleges

Biggest Universities in the World – California Community Colleges

Coming in at Number Three in the List of Largest Universities in the World is The California Community Colleges is a post-secondary education system in the U.S. state of California. Despite its plural name, the system is consistently referred to in California law as a singular entity.

The system includes the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges and 73 community college districts. The districts currently operate 115 accredited colleges.

California Community College is the largest system of higher education in the United States, serving more than 2.1 million students.

4. Bangladesh National University

Largest Universities in the World – Bangladesh National University

The National University of Bangladesh is a parent university of Bangladesh that was established by an Act of Parliament as an affiliate university of the country to impart graduate and post-graduate level education to the students through its affiliated colleges and professional institutions throughout the country.

It is the fourth-largest university in the world according to enrollment. Its headquarters is in Gazipur, on the outskirts of Dhaka.

5. Anadolu University

Top 10 Largest Universities in the World (2023) – Anadolu University

Anadolu University is a public university in Eskişehir, Turkey. Its Faculty of Communication Sciences is considered the best in Turkey and one of the best in Europe.

Anadolu University was established in 1982 from the union of four existing higher education institutes in Eskişehir: the Academy of Economics and Commercial Sciences of Eskişehir, the State Academy of Architecture and Engineering, the Institute of Education, and a medical school.

When the Academy of Economics and Commercial Sciences was founded earliest, in 1958, Anadolu University adopted that year as its date of establishment.

6. Azad University

Iran Largest Universities in the World – Islamic Azad

The Islamic Azad University is a private university system in Iran. It is one of the largest comprehensive systems of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the world. Headquartered in Tehran, Iran, the Islamic Azad University is the world’s sixth-largest university.

From the establishment of Islamic Azad University in 1982 to 2013, the admission process of students was through Islamic Azad University’s entrance exam which was designed, held, and scored independently by the private university system. Post-2013, its entrance exam was merged with the Public University System. Public and Private University systems in Iran are defined differently than other countries’ university systems like the United States.

Public University System holds the national entrance exam and the students who get admitted through this process would be exempt from paying any tuition. However, Islamic Azad University requires tuition which varies by different factors such as program, degree, and location. IAU has two independent and 31 state university branches across Iran, and four branches in other countries: the U.A.E., the United Kingdom, Lebanon, and Afghanistan.

Over the years, the university has accumulated assets estimated to be worth $20–25 billion. The Islamic Azad University’s activities quickly expanded throughout the country, so today thousands of students are enrolling every year. Instead of relying on government funding, it receives charitable donations and charges tuition fees.

7. Laureate Education

Largest Universities in the World with the most students – Laureate Education

Laureate Education, Inc. is a corporation based in Baltimore, Maryland, in the United States.

The company is publicly traded. Laureate International Universities teaches various subjects at both undergraduate and graduate levels.

Subjects covered by some of its remaining colleges include design, business, culinary, and hospitality. Laureate’s continuing operations have a total of approximately 875,000 students, and is the seventh Largest Universities in the World

8. Bangladesh Open University

Top 10 Largest Universities in the World – Bangladesh Open University

Bangladesh Open University or BOU is a public university with its main campus in Board Bazar, Gazipur District, Dhaka Division. It is the 7th largest university in the world according to enrolment.

The university was established on 21 October 1992. As the only public university in Bangladesh to use distance education as a method of delivery.

BOU is mandated to promote through multimedia; instruction of every standard and knowledge (both general and scientific) by means of any form of communications technology, to raise the standard of education, and to give the people educational opportunities by democratizing education and creating a class of competent people by raising the standard of education of the people generally.

9. Universitas Terbuka

Indonesia’s Largest Universities in the World – Universitas Terbuka

Universitas Terbuka is Indonesia’s state university and employs an open and distance learning (ODL) system to widen access to higher education for all Indonesian citizens, including those who live in remote islands throughout the country as well as in various parts of the world.

It has a total student body of 1,045,665 as of 2019/2020 according to Indonesia’s Ministry of Education Higher Education database. According to a distance education institution in the UK, UT, including one from “The Top Ten Mega Universities” UT-3 ranks after similar universities in China and Turkey.

10. National Technological Institute of Mexico

Mexico’s Largest University – National Technological Institute of Mexico

The National Technological Institute of Mexico is a Mexican public university system created on 23 July 2014 by presidential decree.

At the time of its foundation, the Institute incorporated the 263 former Institutes of Technology that had been created since 1948; first under the patronage of the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN) and, since 1959, directly dependent on the Secretariat of Public Education (SEP).

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SOURCES:
wikepedia, careersngr