Figures indicating a drop in UK universities’ international recruitment, including an unprecedented fall in Chinese student numbers, might offer signs of market pressures and of institutions’ efforts to diversify beyond the Asian giant, according to experts.
Ucas figures, published after examination results day this month, showed 51,210 international undergraduate student acceptances at UK institutions, down from 52,440 in 2022. This had increased to 56,330 a week into clearing but was still the lowest level of international recruitment via Ucas since 2014 (barring 2021, when the pandemic severely hindered global mobility).
The figures offer only a partial picture on international students because only a minority of them apply via Ucas. Nevertheless, they might offer some indications of key trends.
The number of Chinese students accepted fell from 13,180 in 2022 to 11,630. That was the first recorded fall because, before that, Chinese student numbers had risen every year since 2014, when Ucas began keeping records in their present form.
