Women graduates are coming out on top, figures show.

The Higher Education Statistics Agency (Hesa) found 61% of female students gained a first-class or upper-second class degree in 2001-2.

This compared with 54% of men. However, men were ahead on first-class degrees, with 11% achieving them, compared with 10% of women.

But fewer women got lower degree classes - lower-seconds and thirds.

Overall, Hesa found 47.8% of students had been awarded upper-second degrees, with 10.4% gaining firsts.

Two million students

The figures also showed that 2,086,075 people were in higher education institutions in the UK in 2001-2.

Of these, just over 60% were studying full-time or sandwich courses.

Females constituted 56.2% of the student population, outnumbering their male colleagues in both full-time and part-time study.

Meanwhile, according to Hesa's analysis of government statistics, 242,755 overseas students made up 11.6% of the entire student body.

The most popular degree subject was business and administrative studies.

Other subject areas with a high take-up rate were computer science, social, economic and political studies and languages.