Coursera is a platform that offers courses, certifications, and degrees from universities and organizations worldwide. It was founded in 2012 by Stanford professors Andrew Ng and Daphne Koller and has since become one of the largest online learning platforms on the Internet.
Through Coursera, learners can access courses in various fields, including business, computer science, humanities, and more. Classes range from a few weeks to several months and are taught by professors and instructors from top universities and organizations. In addition, learners can audit courses for free or pay for a certificate of completion, which can be used to showcase their knowledge to potential employers.
If you are considering upgrading your skills this year, pay attention to these 10 statistics that show the growth of e-Learning and the weight of Coursera in this modality in 2025.
Coursera has a community of over 100 million registered students
As professor Arthur Levine mentions in his analysis of the transformation of education today, the Coursera model is here to stay. The system used by the platform, where students can learn in a personalized way, responds to the economy of the moment: that of knowledge.
The demand for skills is so high and changing that millions of the modern workforce understand that they must update their knowledge at the same speed. That may explain why Coursera closed 2022 with 23 million more students enrolled than the previous year, already exceeding 100 million.
19 million Coursera students are from the U.S.
The United States is the country with the most students registered on Coursera.
According to the platform, in 2022, there were 19 million registered users, 58% of whom were men: a trend that continues globally.
Coursera’s most popular course in 2022 is all about data science
“Foundations: Data, Data, Everywhere” is Coursera’s most popular course, the platform reported in early 2023.
Taught by Google, this program, which aims to give students essential skills for jobs related to data analytics, has 4.8 out of 5 stars, 98% approval, and more than 77,500 reviews.
According to Coursera, the most demanded skills by students on its platform are business, technology, and data science.
53% of students on Coursera are male. However, female participation is increasing
According to Coursera’s most recent global skills report, there has been a steady increase in women’s participation in Coursera courses.
Women constitute 47% of the total enrolled learners, a rise from 45% last year and 38% two years ago. That is a promising trend toward gender parity and inclusivity in online education. However, the statistics also reveal that women learners still lag in enrollment in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) courses.
Studies have shown societal stereotypes and gender bias discourage women from pursuing STEM careers and education. According to a report by the National Science Board, women are more likely to report experiencing gender-based discrimination in STEM fields, which affects their confidence and sense of belonging.
The percentage of women taking Professional Certificates on Coursera increased from 25% in 2019 to 40% in 2022
Coursera offers Professional Certificates through a suite of curated courses delivered by leading industry partners like Google, IBM, and Meta.
The program has gained significant popularity over the years, with enrollments reaching 1.8 million last year and increasing the percentage of women pursuing Professional Certificates. The rate has gone up from 25% in 2019 to 40% in 2022.
While the program has many advantages, there are also some potential downsides. That’s why it’s crucial to consider your individual needs before enrolling, such as the course’s costs.
72% of employees recognize the value of industry micro-credentials
According to a recent Coursera survey, 72% of employees acknowledge the value of industry micro-credentials.
This recognition has led universities and colleges worldwide to incorporate entry-level professional certificates (or micro-credentials), and career-relevant skills training into their degree programs to enhance student recruitment and graduate employability.
On the other hand, including industry micro-credentials in academic programs has also increased student interest, as 90% of them and recent graduates from 11 countries surveyed reported that they would be more likely to enroll in a program with these credentials.
If Coursera offers that kind of certification, the answer is yes. In 2022 the platform launched its Career Academy, which gives students industry micro-credentials from companies like Google, IBM, Meta, and Intuit to learn job-specific skills and discover in-demand career paths.
Coursera has partnerships with more than 275 universities and companies
One of the pros of Coursera programs is that they offer different types of accreditation. So you can choose the course that benefits you the most, as you can take lessons that generate from certificates to degrees.
Both certifications are valid in the real world since Coursera has partnerships with more than 275 universities and companies that lead student learning. Some of these institutions are:
- Yale
- University of Michigan
- IBM
- Duke University
- Imperial College London
- Los Andes University
7 out of the top 10 countries with the best skills performance are European
In 2022, for two years in a row, learners in Switzerland have achieved the highest level of proficiency compared to other countries. With that country topping Coursera’s rank, Europe is leading the world in abilities.
According to the platform’s data, seven out of the top ten countries with the best skills performance are located in that continent:
- Switzerland
- Denmark
- Belgium
- Netherlands
- Sweden
- Germany
- Bulgaria
India climbed six positions in Coursera’s ranking related to technology skills
According to Coursera’s data, India ranks 56th in the global ranking of students and workforce with technology skills.
India’s tech sector grew twice as fast as the economy last year, making it an important market for technology companies. The industry, backed by homegrown and Western multinationals such as Twitter, Amazon, and Alphabet, earned a record $227 billion this fiscal year. So it’s recommended that India’s workforce leaders invest in digital and human skills to keep driving the tech sector’s growth.
That country currently has 15.7 million students enrolled in Coursera, of which at least 60% take courses via mobile.
Latin American and Caribbean students enrolled in Coursera increased by 23%.
Within the regions where Coursera has the most students enrolled, Latin America ranks second after the United States, with 17.9 million enrolled users.
However, despite a 23% growth in students in 2021, data from the e-Learning platform reveals that in Latin America, only Perú and Venezuela are considered competitive countries in terms of performance.
Conclusions:
- Coursera’s personalized learning system meets the high and changing demand for skills in the modern workforce, which explains its continued growth in the number of students enrolled. Moreover, the platform offers different types of accreditation, from certificates to degrees, and has partnerships with more than 275 universities and companies that lead student learning.
- The most popular course on Coursera in 2022 was “Foundations: Data, Data, Everywhere,” taught by Google, which aims to provide essential skills for jobs related to data analytics.
- While women’s participation in Coursera courses is increasing, they still lag in enrollment in STEM courses, where societal stereotypes and gender bias discourage women from pursuing STEM careers and education.
- Seven out of the top ten countries with the best skills performance are European. But in other places, such as India, its workforce leaders should invest in digital and human skills to keep driving the tech sector’s growth.
