Statistics recently released by UCAS show an increase in the total number of international applicants for UK undergraduate courses. The number of non-UK applicants as of the June 30^th deadline increased to 134,880, up 3.4 per cent compared to the same point in 2021.

However, the data shows opposite trends in applicants from EU and non-EU countries. While non-EU applicants were up by 9 per cent, those from the EU dropped by 18 per cent.

As with last year’s data, there has been strong growth in students from many countries in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Nigeria saw a particularly large increase, with applicant numbers up 57 per cent compared to June 2021.

The country with the largest net growth was China, where applicant numbers as of the end of June were up 10 per cent to 31,400. But comparing this data to the figures from UCAS’s January deadline shows that the picture might not be as positive as these numbers suggest – the number of China-domiciled applicants in the period between January and June was actually down slightly compared to the same period in 2021, which may be related to the renewed Covid lockdowns in Shanghai and other major cities.

Most other major non-EU sending countries also saw an increase in applicants, although there were some exceptions such as Hong Kong, the US, South Korea and Pakistan.

However, the trend in the EU was in the opposite direction. While this year’s decline was smaller than the drop in applicants we saw in 2021, the continued decrease means that EU applicants have now dropped by more than half compared to two years ago.

As with last year the biggest drops were in Eastern European countries such as Romania and Poland, while Western European countries such as France, Spain and Germany had smaller but still significant declines. The only major EU sending country to see an increase in applicants was Ireland.

The table below shows a summary of data from the top 40 senders, which includes 10 EU and 30 non-EU countries or regions.

Analysis

This year’s trends in both EU and non-EU countries appear to be continuations of the trends we saw last year. In both regions the rate of change is lower – non-EU students are growing at a slower rate than last year, while EU student numbers have continued to fall but the rate of decline has also slowed.

The most obvious reasons for declining EU applicant numbers are the changes to tuition fees, student support and visa requirements introduced last year. This is reinforced by the continuing increase in students from Ireland, in contrast to the rest of the region – Irish students still benefit from lower tuition fees and subsidised student loans thanks to the Common Travel Area agreement.Meanwhile the increase in non-EU countries appears to still be driven by the introduction of the Graduate Route which allows students to work in the UK for two years after graduating.

This data is not the last word when it comes to 2022 entrants. Aside from students who apply after the June deadline – who made up around 9 per cent of applicants last year – the trend in applicant numbers is not always matched by the trend in actual enrolments. For example, last year’s data showed a decline in the proportion of applicants who eventually accepted a place at a UK university, meaning that the overall growth in new students was significantly lower than the rate of growth in applicants.

Source

UCAS: 2022 Cycle Applicant Figures – 30 June Deadline https://www.ucas.com/data-and-analysis/undergraduate-statistics-and-reports/ucas-undergraduate-releases/applicant-releases-2022-cycle/2022-cycle-applicant-figures-30-june-deadline