The UK to fall as the third most popular study destinations, statistics suggest
Australia to climb as the second favorite study destinations, leaving the UK at the third position
The UK is still the second most popular study destination worldwide, but this may soon change. The sector of international education is not anymore a centralized market where only several countries share the total international student population. As time flows, once unpopular study destinations are emerging and climbing fast. According to the official statistics Australia is among those countries.
In respect to the past years’ international student statistics, Australia is having a fast pace of growth. On the other hand, this trend is completely different in the UK where the graphic of international students is not that steep, often being unsteady. With this in mind, if the trend keeps going for some years on, Australia will soon climb as the second most popular study destination.
Based on current statistics, as of April 2018, there were 548,411 international students studying in Australia. Compared to the same report a year ago, there were 12% fewer international students at Australian universities.
This growth is still more significant if we compare the actual data with figures from the past years. For example, in 2011, 262,597 international students were seeking a university degree in Australia meaning this number over-doubled to now.
According to some partial UNESCO statistics lately released, in 2013, 249,868 overseas students were enrolled to an Australian university. The following year the number grew at 266,048, an increase of 6.5%. The growth continued in 2015 when 294,438 foreigners were studying in this country, a further increase of 10.7%. In 2016, the final year to at which the report refers, Australia hosted 335,512 international students.
During the same timeframe, the UK didn’t have such a stable rhythm of growth. In 2011,419,946 international students were studying in UK while during the succeeding year the number rose at 427,686. This growth was followed by a significant drop in 2013 (416,693 international students) to regain its growth trend in 2014 when 428,724 were seeking a degree in UK. Finally, in 2015, there were 430,687 foreigners studying in this country. In terms of percentage, between 2011 and 2015 the number of international students in UK grew by only 2.5%.
Regarding the most recent international student data by the Department of Education in Australia the number of foreigners studying in this country has exceeded half a million. As of April 2018, this Department states that there were 548,411 international students studying in Australia, 12% more than during the same period in the previous year.
With this being said, is easy to conclude that if this pace of growth remains at this level, Australia will surpass the UK as the second most favorite study destinations. In fact, with more exact estimations of international students in both countries soon to be released, many believed that this shift of positions has already happened.