The proportion of 18-year-olds starting university has virtually doubled in the last quarter century, new figures show.
A series of fact sheets published by the Department for Employment and Learning (DEL) provide a detailed analysis of various topics of interest in higher education.
The analysis, which provides a more detailed breakdown of previously published higher education data, reveals a persistent growth in demand for university degrees.
The fact sheets include details on the higher education Age Participation Index (API). The north's API for the 2013/14 academic year was 49.5 per cent, up 3.6 percentage points from 2012/13 and a massive 23.7 per cent from 1990/91, at which stage it was 25.8 per cent.
This mirrors previous research published by admissions service Ucas which showed record numbers of 18-year-olds in Britain and Northern Ireland, including rising numbers of women and students from deprived areas, going to university last year.
The increase in Ucas applications last year came despite a fall in the overall number of 18-year-olds, meaning that the proportion of sixth formers moving onto higher education rose.
There had been predictions of a reduced appetite for university education after tuition fees were tripled to £9,000 a year in Britain. Record numbers were accepted in 2011 when there was a stampede to get onto courses ahead of higher fees, but this record has since been broken again, with many seeing fees as no object.
Fees are lower in the north - £3,805 a year - and new students do not have to pay upfront There is also more financial support for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. In addition, graduates make lower loan repayments once they are in well paid jobs.
A separate DEL fact sheet showed that between 2005/06 and 2014/15, the number of applicants applying to the north's institutions increased by 18.2 per cent. Over the same period the number of applicants accepted increased by 9.5 per cent.
