International students in the UK — where are they from?
Now that the new academic year started and most of the students came back to the UK, many of you might ask “Where do these students come from?”
The UK has always attracted a big deal of international students, and that number keeps increasing as the years go by which makes the UK one of the most multicultural countries in the world. We bring you some interesting statistics on UK Higher education and international students.
The UK among most popular destinations for international studies
Believe it or not, the UK was the second most popular destination in the world for international students in 2016. The number one destination is, as you can probably guess The United States, and in the top 5 there are Australia, Russia and France. Surprisingly, Canada took 7th place, leaving Germany in 6th place and Japan, China and Italy following Canada on 8th, 9th and 10th place as most popular destinations for international students.
In the 2017–2018 academic year, there were 458,490 international students in the UK, and they accounted for 19.6% of the total student population in the UK.
Out of those 19.6% of international students, most of them were postgraduates. Estimated 35.8% of all postgraduates are international students. Even more, there are additional 693,695 students studying for a UK degree overseas in 225 countries and territories worldwide..
Who are the UK’s international students?
Three years ago, there were more non-EU international students than EU students at UK higher education institutions. There were almost 320,000 non-EU students, while only 139,000 came from an EU country. However, these numbers are likely to change due to Brexit related changes from 2021 onwards.
Top five sending countries for international students were China, India, The United States, Hong Kong and Malaysia. Chinese students make up to 23% of all international students in the UK. Top EU sending countries were Italy, France and Germany.
Most international students in the UK study Business and administrative studies, according to Universities UK. Other most popular courses are Engineering and technology studies, Social studies, Creative arts and design and Biological studies.
What about international staff?
Quite the opposite from what we’ve seen in international students’ statistics, the majority of international staff in UK Higher education in 2017–2018 were EU nationals (59.1%). The top five countries of nationality for international staff were Italy, Germany, Ireland, the US and China. Most international staff are based in England, then Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Most international staff in higher education institutions are academic staff and they mostly work in biological, mathematical and physical sciences and engineering and technology.
Even though these numbers are based on the 2017–2018 academic year, they represent contemporary trends in international students’ preferences. The 2020–2021 numbers are going to be quite unpredictable, as 2020 has seen both Brexit and a global pandemic taking a huge impact on British higher education. Big thanks to Universities UK for providing all necessary and relevant information on UK higher education institutions.
