Student Enrollment from Emerging Markets Expanding in the UK

Diversification of source markets is a growing focal point in the international education sector. As we saw during the COVID-19 pandemic, diversification helps destination countries mitigate market downturn risks. New voices in the classroom also improve the quality of education and, as ApplyBoard CEO Martin Basiri wrote for the Toronto Star, ultimately help the world grow more prosperous.

Here’s some good news for both international students and UK campuses: enrollment from many emerging student markets is expanding. While China and India have driven a lot of the UK’s recent record-setting growth, many emerging markets are providing an important assist in the growth of student numbers over the past five years.

Let’s get up to speed on the UK’s latest student enrollment developments from emerging markets.

Much of the growth we are about to unpack was propelled by the introduction of the Graduate Route (GR). The GR provides an opportunity for international students who have been awarded their degree to stay in the UK and work, or look for work, at any skill level for two years, or three years for doctoral students.

China’s Continued Dominance, and India’s Swift Rise in the UK’s Education Sector

Before delving into which emerging markets are growing, let’s briefly look at the overall picture of student enrollment in the UK. The chart below shows the total number of first-year students entering the UK from 2016/17 to 2020/21:

The UK welcomed 317,880 first-year international students in 2020/21. This was an increase of 34%—or 80,850 students—compared to 2016/17.

China has long been the dominant source market for international students in the UK. In 2020/21, China accounted for more than 97,100 of the UK’s 317,880 first-year students. This represented 31% of all first-year international students in the UK that year, and an increase of three percentage points since 2016/17. The total number of enrolled Chinese students in 2020/21 was 46% higher—or 30,740 students—than 2016/17. There was, however, a slight decline in first-year Chinese students in 2020/21 after enrollment surpassed the 100,000 mark the previous year.

India grew exponentially over the past five years. The UK welcomed nearly 49,700 first-year Indian students in 2020/21, a growth of 411% over the five-year period. This total accounted for 16% of all first-year students in the UK, up a staggering 12 percentage points from 2016/17.

Rising Student Markets in the UK

The tremendous boom of both the Chinese and Indian markets means that all other markets now account for a smaller percentage of the UK’s total international student population. In 2016/17, all other markets combined accounted for 68% of all first-year students, but this dropped to 54% by 2020/21. Yet, all other markets combined grew over the five-year period, increasing by a total of 6%. The graphic below shows some of the top source markets driving this growth:

Nigeria jumped into the top three markets for first-year international students in 2020/21. It’s up 153% since 2016/17, and much of this growth has come over the past three years. Pakistan is also up well over 150% the past five years, and jumped into a top 5 spot in 2020/21. And first-year students from both Bangladesh and the Philippines have grown rapidly during the last five years.

Let’s dive into each one a little deeper.

Older Nigerian Students Welcomed in the UK

Nearly 13,900 first-year Nigerian students were welcomed into the UK in 2020/21. This was an increase of 153% compared to the near 5,500 enrolled first-year students in 2016/17.

Of the first-year Nigerian students in the UK in 2020/21, 72%—or 10,000—were mature (25 and over) students. And when we looked at how older students are helping drive growth in the UK, we found that Nigeria was the UK’s leading source for students aged 30 and over in 2020/21.

More than 1,000 first-year Nigerian undergraduate students entered health, physical and life sciences in 2020/21, and nearly 4,400 postgraduate students entered business and management that year. Each was the top field of study for its respective student cohort. 79% of first-year Nigerian students entered postgraduate studies in 2020/21. Almost 1,700 of those postgraduate students entered the health, physical and life sciences field of study, which is exciting to see as there’s a distinct need for workers in this sector.

Check out a special, extended edition of ApplyInsights to see why Nigeria may be the next major market for international students in the coming decade.

Pakistan Leapfrogs Other Student Markets

Pakistan erupted as a source market for first-year students in the UK, rounding out the top 20 in 2016/17 but catapulting all the way to the top five in 2020/21. The first-year Pakistani student population increased from 2,800 students in 2016/17 to nearly 7,300 students in 2020/21, or 159%. Mature students accounted for 48% of first-year Pakistani students in 2020/21.

In 2020/21, 71% of first-year Pakistani students—or 5,165—entered postgraduate studies. Business and management was the top field of study for both undergraduate and postgraduate first-year students in 2020/21, accounting for 40% of the former and 41% of the latter. At the postgraduate level, math and computer science nearly quadrupled in first-year students since 2018/19, increasing from 240 to 880 in 2020/21.

Bangladesh and the Philippines Rocketing Upward

In 2016/17, Bangladesh just squeaked into the UK’s top 40 source markets for first-year students, while the Philippines barely made it into the top 70. Both markets have exploded since then, with Bangladesh falling one spot out of the top 15 in 2020/21, and the Philippines entering the top 25.

Bangladesh is up 224% over the past five years, increasing its first-year student population in the UK from 1,245 in 2016/17 to 4,030 in 2020/21. Mature students accounted for 57%, and postgraduate students represented 74%, of the 2020/21 total. Business and management was the top field of study for both undergraduate and postgraduate students.

The Philippines, on the other hand, has nearly quintupled in the past five years, growing from just 435 first-year students in 2016/17 to 2,140 in 2020/21. Mature students represented a whopping 90%, and undergraduate students accounted for 87%, of the 2020/21 total. Incredibly, 1,775 of the first-year students in 2020/21 entered health, physical and life sciences at the undergraduate level, accounting for 83% of all first-year Filipino students.

Looking Forward

While the emerging markets above are some of the fastest growing ones, they’re not alone. From the Middle East, Saudi Arabia neared 4,200 first-year students in the UK in 2020/21, and UAE and Kuwait were up 71% and 54% respectively since 2016/17. Elsewhere, Ghana nearly doubled, Sri Lanka more than doubled, and Nepal nearly quadrupled over the past five years!

That’s a lot of data and markets from several different regions. The key takeaway is this: the UK has been welcoming students from all over the world in addition to the massive growth from its two major markets. UK universities value and seek diversity, and this has resulted in the UK’s international education sector growing steadily even amid the global pandemic. With how well the UK managed the pandemic, and with the introduction of the Graduate Route attracting more career-oriented international students than ever before, the UK is well positioned to continue making major strides as a premier destination market.

About the ApplyInsights Team

FOOTNOTES:

1. All data courtesy of HESA. Note that this data does not include the following institutions: Falmouth University, University of Worcester, and London South Bank University. Per HESA’s standard rounding methodology, all counts of people have been rounded to the nearest multiple of five. All percentages reflect groups of 23 or more people.