The pie charts compare the subjects chosen by university students in one country in 2000 and 2020.
Overall, the subject mix shifted towards engineering, medicine and science and away from arts, business and other subjects. Business remained the most popular choice in both years, although its lead narrowed.
In 2000 business was the most popular subject, at 28%, followed by arts at 24%. Arts then fell sharply to 12% in 2020, exactly half of its former share, and business also declined, to 24%. It nevertheless remained the largest category.
Engineering recorded the biggest increase, rising from 14% to 22%, which moved it from third place to second. Science grew from 12% to 18%, while medicine increased from 10% to 16%. Together, these three subjects attracted 56% of students in 2020, compared with 36% in 2000.
The proportion of students choosing other subjects also fell, from 12% to 8%. As a result, among the leading subjects, the difference between the most popular and the second most popular subject shrank from 4 percentage points to just 2.