Australia international student numbers at all-time high

The number of international students studying in Australia reached a record high last year, official data shows.

Figures from the country’s Federal Education Department show that there were 554,179 full-fee paying international students in Oz in 2016, an increase of more than 10 per cent on the previous year.

The majority of overseas students are entering Australia’s higher education institutions (43 per cent), with the vocational education sector accounting for 26 per cent of international student enrolments, and English Language Intensive Courses attracting 21 per cent. Only 3 per cent of international students enter the school sector.

“International education is now our third largest export sector generating more than AUS$21 billion of economic activity in Australia, supporting many jobs and providing benefits to both Australian and international students,” said Federal Education Minister Simon Birmingham.

“There are real upsides in terms of the jobs that are created, the opportunities for Australian students to study alongside international students and to gain exposure to people from more than 200 different countries who are now studying in Australia,” he added.

Five Australian universities ranked in the top 25 of the latest Times Higher Education world’s best universities list.

Canberra’s Australia National University was the highest ranked Oz university in seventh place. It was followed by the University of New South Wales (14th), the University of Melbourne (18th), Monash University (21st) and the University of Sydney (23rd).

Article published 27th February 2017