HESA statistics show an overall increase in UK international enrolments in 2021/22, but a big drop in EU student numbers

by Kevin Prest

20/01/2023

Higher Education Institutions

HESA published their Statistical First Release for the 2021/22 academic year yesterday (January 19^th), giving data on students studying in the UK in that year. I’ve written up a short summary / analysis of the data below.

The number of international students increased by +12% overall, reaching 679,970. But there was a sharp difference between the trend for students from EU and non-EU countries – EU students were down -21% year-on-year to 120,140, while non-EU students grew by +24% to 559,825. Compared to the 2019/20 academic year (before the Covid-19 pandemic), EU students were down -19% while non-EU students were up +37%.

New vs returning students and level of study

The gap between EU and non-EU students was even sharper if we focus on new students. Non-EU students grew by +32%, while EU students fell by more than half (-53%) vs the previous year. Compared to the pre-pandemic figures, non-EU student numbers were up +37% while EU numbers fell by -51%. 2021/22 was the first academic year where new EU students needed to pay full fees and were not eligible for the subsided student finance provided to home students.

The drop in EU student numbers was especially strong at the undergraduate level. The number of new EU undergraduates dropped by -63% year-on-year, compared to a -39% drop in new EU postgraduates.

The trend in new non-EU students was the opposite, with postgraduates growing somewhat more quickly, increasing by +43%, compared to relatively weaker growth of +12% in new non-EU undergraduates.

	Total students			New students only
	2021/22	Change vs 2020/21	Change vs 2019/20 (pre-Covid)	2021/22	Change vs 2020/21	Change vs 2019/20 (pre-Covid)
EU Students	120,140	-21%	-19%	31,400	-53%	-51%
- Undergraduates	86,430	-21%	-17%	14,830	-63%	-60%
- Postgraduates	33,715	-23%	-23%	16,570	-39%	-38%
Non-EU International Students	559,825	+24%	+37%	350,325	+32%	+37%
- Undergraduates	221,040	+7%	+13%	100,135	+12%	+8%
- Postgraduates	338,790	+37%	+59%	250,195	+43%	+53%
Total International Students	679,970	+12%	22%	381,725	+15%	+19%

Trends in individual countries

In the EU, nine of the top 10 sending countries saw a decrease in total student numbers and all 10 saw a drop in new student numbers.

However there was a noticeable regional split between different parts of the EU. Poland and Romania saw the biggest drops, with new students from these countries decreasing by -78% and -83% respectively. Meanwhile the drop in new French students was much smaller by comparison, falling by -34%, while the number of new German students fell by -38%. Ireland was a particular outlier with only a 3% drop in student numbers, likely because students from this country were not affected by Brexit-related changes to tuition fees and student support due to the UK-Ireland Common Travel Area treaty.

	Total students			New students only
	2021/22	Change vs 2020/21	Change vs 2019/20 (pre-Covid)	2021/22	Change vs 2020/21	Change vs 2019/20 (pre-Covid)
Ireland	9,855	+1%	+8%	4,415	-3%	+11%
France	11,870	-16%	-15%	4,355	-34%	-34%
Germany	9,915	-19%	-23%	3,695	-38%	-42%
Italy	11,320	-22%	-23%	3,105	-50%	-50%
Spain	10,330	-16%	-8%	2,725	-50%	-46%
Greece	7,100	-26%	-28%	1,780	-58%	-61%
Cyprus (EU)	6,330	-24%	-27%	1,510	-54%	-55%
Netherlands	[Not available]			1,015	-39%	-40%
Poland	7,910	-26%	-15%	1,015	-78%	-73%
Romania	8,915	-31%	-18%	1,015	-83%	-79%
Portugal	6,170	-27%	-14%	[Not available]
Total EU Students	120,140	-21%	-19%	31,400	-53%	-51%

Growth in non-EU students also varied greatly from country to country. The strongest performer was Nigeria, with student numbers more than doubling compared to the previous year. Pakistan and Bangladesh also very strong growth, with new student numbers up by over +90%, while India saw growth of +64% in new students.

In contrast China saw much more modest growth, with new students up by less than +1% compared to 2020/21 – and still slightly lower than the pre-Covid figure. While China is still the UK’s top sending country, the gap between Chinese and Indian student numbers has narrowed dramatically over the last few years. The difference in trends between these two countries is likely due to Indian students placing more value on the UK’s Graduate Route post-study work visa combined with Chinese students being more affected by the Covid-19 pandemic due to that country’s stricter lockdowns.

Saudi Arabia was the only one of the top 10 non-EU sending countries to see a drop in new student numbers compared to last year. The slowdown in outbound Saudi students has been blamed on a reduction in government scholarship funding.

	Total students			New students only
	2021/22	Change vs 2020/21	Change vs 2019/20 (pre-Covid)	2021/22	Change vs 2020/21	Change vs 2019/20 (pre-Covid)
China	151,690	+5%	+7%	99,965	+1%	-4%
India	126,535	+50%	+128%	87,045	+64%	+108%
Nigeria	44,195	+107%	+240%	32,945	+131%	+335%
Pakistan	23,075	+78%	+195%	16,550	+97%	+257%
United States	22,990	+20%	+11%	13,550	+37%	+15%
Bangladesh	12,700	+91%	+296%	9,170	+95%	+346%
Hong Kong	17,630	+6%	+8%	8,170	+15%	+17%
Malaysia	12,135	+5%	-10%	5,665	+35%	-6%
Canada	[Not available]			3,885	+21%	+10%
Saudi Arabia	8,750	-1%	+3%	3,870	-9%	-7%
UAE	8,085	+14%	+34%	[Not available]
Total non-EU International Students	559,825	+24%	+37%	350,325	+32%	+37%

More detailed data

The analysis above is based on data from HESA’s Statistical First Release. The British Council has requested more detailed data which will allow us to analyse more detailed trends, for example breaking down students from a particular country by institution, subject area or level of study, as well as giving data on all countries rather than only the top senders. This data will also include statistics on visiting and exchange students, who are not included in HESA’s headline figures above. UK HEIs will be available to access detailed statistics through the data tool on this website, subject to the HESA rounding methodology.

Theme:

Recruitment