1. Top level analysis of 2009–10 HESA data
Student numbers up 9.5 per cent on last year…
The 2009–10 HESA data reveals that there were a total of 454,980 non-UK domiciled students
in UK HE institutions in 2009–10. This represents an increase of 9.5 per cent on the previous
year and a growth of 51 per cent since 2002–03. The number of non-EU domiciled students
has topped 300,000 and stands at 308,710 (growth of 11.1 per cent on 08/09).
Where do our international students come from?
China is still the number one sending country, followed by India, United States, Germany, France, Nigeria, Ireland,
Malaysia, Greece and Hong Kong.
Top ten non-EU sending countries
Country 2008–09 2009–10 Growth (%)
China 50,460 60,660 20.2
India 36,105 40,350 11.8
United States 21,815 23,700 8.6
Nigeria 15,105 17,405 15.2
Malaysia 13,355 14,820 11.0
Hong Kong (SAR) 10,080 10,405 3.2
Pakistan 10,190 10,400 2.1
Saudi Arabia 5,640 8,770 55.5
Canada 6,475 6,720 3.8
Thailand 5,160 6,030 16.9
n China remains the major sending country to the UK and following only modest growth last year and three years of
decline prior to that, the number of Chinese students in the UK has now passed the high point of 2004–05 to reach
60,660. This represents a growth of over 20 per cent compared to 2008–09 figures.
n India continues to grow strongly although the increase of 11.8 per cent appears modest compared to last year’s numbers.
n India and China together make up nearly one third of all non-EU students in the UK HE system (32.7 per cent), and the
top five sending markets (China, India, USA, Nigeria and Malaysia) account for more than 50 per cent of non-EU students
in HE in the UK.

2. n USA and Hong Kong have turned around the slight declines experienced last year and have grown by 8.7 per cent and
3.3 per cent respectively.
n Saudi Arabia continues to grow at an astonishing rate with a growth of 55.6 per cent building on last year’s growth of 45
per cent. The number of students from Saudi Arabia has grown 126 per cent in two years and now stands at 8,775.
n Taiwan has dropped out of the top ten non-EU sending countries to the UK, and is replaced by Thailand who
experienced nearly 17 per cent growth.
All countries in the top ten have experienced growth in the last year.
There are now seven non-EU countries with over 10,000 students studying at HE in the UK and 11 countries in total which
send over this number.
Education UK Partnership countries
The table below shows all 18 Education UK Partnership countries.
There was a decline in the number of students from three of these countries (Japan, Mexico and Brazil), but a total of ten
Partnership countries recorded a double-digit growth, with students from Vietnam and China growing more than 20%.
Country 2008–09 2009–10 Growth Absolute growth
2008–09 to 2008–09 to
2009–10 (%) 2009–10
Brazil 1580 1540 -2.4% -40
China 50460 60660 20.2% 10200
Hong Kong (SAR) 10080 10405 3.2% 325
India 36105 40350 11.8% 4245
Indonesia 1120 1240 10.9% 120
Japan 4505 4170 -7.5% -335
Korea (South) 4840 4940 2.0% 100
Malaysia 13355 14820 11.0% 1485
Mexico 1755 1705 -2.7% -50
Nigeria 15105 17405 15.2% 2300
Pakistan 10190 10420 2.1% 210
Russia 3115 3385 8.6% 270
Singapore 3515 4110 16.9% 595
Thailand 5160 6030 16.9% 870
Turkey 3045 3520 15.5% 475
United Arab Emirates 2825 3105 9.9% 285
United States 21815 23700 8.6% 1885
Vietnam 2150 2640 22.8 % 490

3. Countries recording significant growth
The graph below shows a selection of EU and non-EU sending countries which have recorded a significant growth over
the last year (more than 15 per cent growth, and sending more than 1,000 students).
In addition to the Partnership countries and Saudi Arabia noted above, an enormous growth has been recorded by the
Philippines (66.4 per cent) building on the 61 per cent growth recorded last year.
Libya, Kazakhstan and Bangladesh all appeared in this list last year and continue to experience large growth. Nepal with
a growth of 61.6 per cent is a new entrant to this list and now has nearly 1,200 students in the UK.
Compared to last year, many more countries from the South East Asia region appear to have experienced a large growth.
Growth
1870
Phillippines 1125 66.4%
1190
Nepal 735 61.6%
8770
Saudi Arabia 5640 55.5%
3530
Bulgaria 2320 52.2%
3350
Romania 2310 45.0%
3150
Libya 2335 35.0%
2130
Kazakhstan 1585
34.4%
2640
Vietnam 22.8%
2150
60660 20.8%
China 50460
1715 20.0%
Latvia 1430
3020 19.8%
Lithuania 2520
4325 19.3%
Bangladesh 3625
4110 16.9%
Singapore 3515
6030 16.9%
Thailand 5160
17405
Nigeria 15.2%
15105
3520
Turkey 3045
15.5%
0 5000 10000 15000 20000
Number of students in the UK 2008/09 2009/10
Growth in first year student numbers
174,885 non-EU first year students enrolled in UK HE in 2009–10. This is an increase of 12.2 per cent on 2008–09.
First year students from Nepal grew 105 per cent, Saudi Arabia saw a 63 per cent increase, Kazakhstan 57 per cent,
and Libya 48 per cent.
The number of new students from South Korea dropped 1 per cent compared to 2008–09. Pakistan decreased
3 per cent and Kenya dropped 5 per cent despite these markets growing overall.
This could be an early indication that these markets are going to shrink.

4. What level are they studying at?
The majority of non-UK domiciled students study postgraduate taught (PGT) programmes (predominantly one-year
Masters courses) and first degree programmes. Roughly one in eight non-UK students study at postgraduate research
level, and a similar proportion study at ‘other undergraduate’ level. The size of the population at both postgraduate
taught and first degree level are three times as large.
180000
How does this compare to previous years? 171700
160000
All levels of study experienced a growth in the number 170045
of non-UK domiciled students enrolling in 2009 –10. 140000
However, the growth has been largely driven by 120000
students at postgraduate taught level. 109260
100000
The gap between first degree students and 100505
80000
postgraduate taught students is narrowing each year
as the popularity of postgraduate taught programmes 60000 56910
50270
grows, and now stands at just 1,655 (compared to 56325
40000
nearly 8,000 two years previously). 40920
20000
0
Postgraduate 2002/03 2003/04 2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10
Research
12.4% Postgraduate
Other Postgraduate Research Postgraduate Taught
Undergraduate Taught 37.3%
12.6% First Degree Other Undergraduate
First Degree 37.7%
What subjects are they studying?
The most popular subject area for non-EU students in 2009–10 continues to be Business and Administrative studies,
and in particular the subjects of Business studies and Management studies. The subject area hosted 93,420 non-EU
students in 2009–10 and experienced 15 per cent growth, Accounting and Finance in particular recorded very strong
growth (of around 20 per cent). Electronic and electrical engineering remains the most popular subject outside of
business disciplines.
All subject areas recorded a positive growth apart from ‘Education’ (-1 per cent) and ‘Historical and Philosophical
studies’ (-5 per cent).
Focussing on new students (first year) by subject area, many subject areas recorded a double-digit growth in this category
of student in 2009–10, including ‘Mass communications and documentation’, ‘Mathematical sciences’ and ‘Languages’.

5. A wealth of data at your fingertips
Members can use our online interactive HESA data-mining tool to produce further statistical reports and charts in a
user-friendly format. This allows you to analyse, cross-tabulate and drill-down to investigate where students are coming
from and what they are studying. To use the tool, please visit: http://www.britishcouncil.org/eumd/statistics/
Our holistic EMI portfolio also includes the following innovations:
Student Decision Making (SDM)
A global on-line survey capturing aspirational data from over 124,000 prospective applicants looking to study
overseas, thereby empowering a UK institution to tailor their marketing approaches accordingly. Members can
access primary data collected by our SDM survey in a real-time, online, interactive, data-mining tool and via
tailor-made automated reports.
Early reporting of international student data
This is an initiative to improve the immediacy of international student data. It allows for an instant insight into
enrolment trends of other institutions by country, by subject and by year of course.
To find out more about how you can use these tools and more, please visit:
http://www.britishcouncil.org/eumd-emi-dataproducts.htm
Contact us
We hope that you have found this summary useful.
If you have any questions or comments, please get in touch.
Education UK Partnership
British Council
Bridgewater House
58 Whitworth Street
Manchester M1 6BB
United Kingdom
T: +44 (0) 161 957 7069
E: education.market.intelligence@britishcouncil.org
www.britishcouncil.org/eumd-partnership.htm