Hands up those who knew there are 2.7 females for every male on education and teaching courses, but 6.6 males for every female on engineering and construction courses?

And if you think that higher education is all about being in your late teens and early 20s, think again. There are more than 12,000 full-time and more than 12,000 part-time students who are over 30 years of age, according to statistical data compiled by the Higher Education Authority.

The statistics show that undergraduate students from Dublin’s southside outnumber northsiders by two to one.

Other highlights include:

Last year, 63 per cent of students were offered and accepted their first place choice on their

CAO

application;

There are more than 170,000 full-time higher education students, about the same number as the combined populations of counties Sligo, Leitrim and Cavan;

The average number of students on any degree course is 147;

The greatest number of full-time students from outside Ireland come from the United States (more than 2,000) while about 1,000 each come from Britain, China and Malaysia;

There are more than 3,800 students engaged in distance learning (online);

More students were born in May than any other month, fewer were born in November than any other month.