The United Kingdom’s Higher Education Statistics Agency has reported an overall 3% growth in Higher Education enrolments for the UK in 2019/20 as compared to the year before. The growth primarily comes from non-EU students that grew 23% in 2019/20 to reach the total number of 556,625 students.
| Domicile | 2015/16 | 2016/17 | 2017/18 | 2018/19 | 2019/20 |
| UK | |||||
| England | 1,557,380 | 1,589,605 | 1,608,180 | 1,616,800 | 1,627,410 |
| Wales | 98,155 | 99,060 | 99,200 | 101,860 | 103,605 |
| Scotland | 165,530 | 169,645 | 171,455 | 173,835 | 177,225 |
| Northern Ireland | 63,715 | 63,200 | 63,110 | 63,715 | 62,690 |
| Other UK | 4,225 | 4,250 | 4,485 | 4,505 | 4,450 |
| Total UK | 1,889,005 | 1,925,760 | 1,946,430 | 1,960,715 | 1,975,380 |
| Non-UK | |||||
| Other European Union | 130,150 | 138,040 | 142,860 | 146,585 | 147,800 |
| Non-European Union | 313,165 | 312,795 | 326,345 | 349,730 | 408,825 |
| Total Non-UK | 443,320 | 450,835 | 469,205 | 496,315 | 556,625 |
| Not known | 505 | 375 | 30 | 115 | 385 |
| Total | 2,332,825 | 2,376,975 | 2,415,660 | 2,457,150 | 2,532,385 |
Enrolments from within the European Union remained largely stable, seeing a small rise of 1,215 students to hit 147,800.
China continues to be the number source of international enrolments representing 35% of all non-EU students in 2019/20. India was the second biggest source country with 14% of all non-EU students in 2019/20 coming from the region. Italy and France were the top two contributors from EU region for the UK Higher Education enrolments.
While non-EU students make up 16% of the total higher education enrolments in the UK, the ratio of the international students was more prevalent at the post-graduate level where non-EU students made up 49% of the total enrolments.
One of the core reasons of the growth from non-EU regions is the graduate route that was announced in September 2019 that resulted in an increased interest amongst the international students. As announced in their latest international education strategy, the UK government clearly wants to grow the number of international students and has taken respective steps in that direction.
The growth is further reflected in the number of applications being submitted to the UK universities. UCAS has seen a 17% rise from international university applicants from outside the EU for the autumn intake in UK higher education. Applications from China and India grew 21% and +25% respectively, while EU applications marked a 40% decline. The drop in EU application numbers has been associated with BREXIT and the uncertainty around relationship between the UK and EU.