For the first time in ten years, the total number of students enrolled in UK universities fell in 2023/24 compared with the previous year, according to the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA).
The overall decline was only -1%, but underlying that was a -7% decline in foreign enrolments. That dip was driven in turn by major decreases in some of the top overseas sending markets for UK higher education: Nigeria (-36%), and India (-15%). Enrolments were also down by -4% from China.
A total of 732,285 international students were enrolled in UK universities that year, with 656,735 from non-EU countries.
Taught master’s programmes bore the brunt of the decline
In 2024, international students in taught master’s programmes joined the ranks of those in undergraduate programmes in being banned from bringing their family with them to the UK (the so-called dependants ban). Only international students in research-oriented graduate programmes and those on government scholarships are now permitted to bring their families with them.
Taught master’s had been incredibly popular among international students, not least because many of these programmes take only a year to complete. Their short duration meant they were a relatively affordable option for students wanting a UK-earned graduate credential that would also let them pursue post-study work opportunities and possibly permanent residency in the UK.
The dependants ban was announced in the summer of 2023, and data show that as soon as many international students discovered it would apply to them as of January 2024, they changed their study abroad plans. This trend was much more pronounced in markets where bringing family is considered essential – for example, Nigeria – and less pronounced in EU markets and China (where many students go back home after completing their degrees).
The HESA data show student numbers fell for all levels of study except postgraduate research degrees. They were down -1% for undergraduate programmes and a much more severe -8% for taught master’s degrees.
That said, international students continued to compose more than 60% of all students in full-time postgraduate courses in the UK in 2023/24.
Top non-EU markets
India (166,310) remained the top market for UK universities in 2023/24, growing much more steeply than #2 China (149,885) over the past five years, as shown in the chart below. Rounding out the Top 10 were Nigeria (57,505), Pakistan (45,720), US (23,250), Hong Kong (17,250), Malaysia (12,760), Nepal (12,715), Bangladesh (12,285), and Saudi Arabia (9,680).
Top EU markets
With one exception, EU enrolments in UK universities have declined among the Top 10 EU sending markets since 2021/22. That exception is Ireland, which is now the top EU country for UK educators (9,690). The graph below illustrates the sharpness of some of the declines in other EU markets.
Student numbers in TNE degree programmes surge
In contrast to home-based enrolments, enrolments in UK transnational education (TNE) offered outside of the country rose by 8%. More than 620,000 students were “either registered overseas at a UK higher education provider or studying for a UK higher education qualification in 2023/24.”
More recent trends
While the HESA data are for full-year 2023/2024, other data show more recent trends in visa issuances. In 2024, 393,125 sponsored study visas were issued to main applicants (i.e., students) in 2024, a 14% drop compared with 2023. Visas issued to Nigerian and Indian students declined by -55% and -26%, respectively.
In brighter news, in January 2025, according to Home Office data, students submitted 28,700 applications for sponsored-study visas, a 13% increase over January 2024.
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