The World Higher Education Database (WHED)
The World Higher Education Database (WHED) is the International Association of Universities’ unique online reference portal that provides comprehensive and detailed information on Higher Education Systems, Credentials, and accredited and recognized Higher Education Institutions around the world. The IAU obtains its information from national higher education authorities, governmental agencies, and national academic bodies.
What is the WHED?
Globally recognised as a reliable source of information, the WHED provides information on around 22,000 higher education institutions (HEIs) in 196 countries and territories. In addition, the IAU WHED portal also disseminates information on the higher education systems and credentials of these countries.
The WHED is recognized as an official source of information on HEIs by national higher education authorities, governmental agencies and/or national academic bodies at global level and is a key resource for the implementation of the UNESCO Global Convention on the Recognition of Higher Education Qualifications. The Global Convention aims to facilitate academic and professional mobility. The WHED support this through a transparent listing of all national systems and higher education institutions, thus providing orientation through the ever-expanding field of higher education.
What kind of information is in the WHED?
The WHED provides structured, country-specific information in two main areas: national higher education systems and individual higher education institutions. For each country, users can access a fact sheet detailing the education system’s structure, types of institutions, key credentials, admission requirements, national authorities, quality assurance mechanisms, and aspects of student life. This section offers essential context for understanding how higher education operates within each country.
Institutional profiles include practical and administrative details such as the institution’s name (in English and local language), contact information, year of establishment, funding type (public or private), language of instruction, academic calendar, and admission criteria. Where available, the WHED also provides information on institutional leadership, academic divisions, degree offerings by level and field, and statistical data on student and staff numbers. Each HEI is assigned a unique Global WHED ID, and any campus or branches are linked to their parent institution.
Global WHED ID
The rapid evolution of higher education worldwide prompted the introduction of a system of unique identifiers for each institution - the Global WHED ID.
The Global WHED ID serves several major goals:
Foster transparency of higher education on a global scale;
Make available information on higher education systems and the list of nationally accredited higher education institutions to all;
Help facilitate communication within the global higher education community;
Address the needs of Higher Education stakeholders seeking to identify accredited HE institutions and gather information on them;
Increase access, speed and the reliability of information;
Provide better overall administrative certainty;
Combat fraud in higher education.
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The International Handbook of Universities was first published in 1959 in response to the growing demand for authoritative information about higher education institutions. It has grown considerably over the years in both the quantity and quality of entries, and includes higher education institutions that offer at least a 4-year degree or a 4-year professional diploma. It is published every year. The latest edition - the 29th edition - was released in eformat and in print in December 2019.
Want to help promote the WHED? Access the WHED Communications and Media kit here.