The number of international students studying at the higher education level around the world has grown significantly over the last two decades, rising from 2m in 1998 (when UNESCO records began) to 6.4m in 2020. The UK alone hosted a record 680,000 international students in the 2021/22 academic year, up 45 per cent on four years earlier.
However, the outlook for global student mobility has become less certain, in the context of the volatile global economic environment of recent times, following the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia-Ukraine conflict. And the trend of slowing economic growth in key emerging economies such as China, and high current and forecast levels of macroeconomic and exchange rate risk in countries such as Nigeria and Pakistan.
The British Council commissioned Oxford Economics to assess the global outlook for the international student market, the specific geographies that present the most supportive macroeconomic conditions for future growth and the risk levels associated with each market. Policy-related factors, both in origin and destination markets, also play a pivotal role in shaping the future of outbound student mobility but are outside the scope of this report.
The aim of this report is to provide analysis around the likely impact of current and future economic trends on outbound student mobility over the period to 2030, at an aggregate global level and for 30 selected source markets. The research has been designed to provide reliable and up-to-date information to the UK education sector as well as to help the British Council to better design policies to support the activities of UK HEIs in this area. The report will also be of interest to policymakers in understanding the likely future trends in outbound student mobility and the sending countries in which this demand will be concentrated.
