UK, Canada & Australia losing popularity among international students

Studyportals recently shared research on LinkedIn indicating that a growing number of prospective international students are considering alternatives to Australia, Canada, and the UK. This shift is attributed to immigration policies in these countries, which have made studying there less possible and/or attractive.

The Studyportals research appears in an article “Winners & Losers: An update on how domestic policies in the UK, Canada, and Australia have impacted student search behaviour,” and highlights how several destinations are faring in terms of student interest since the policy changes took effect in Australia, Canada, and the UK.

The research reveals that while interest in on-campus bachelor and master programs in Canada and the UK was increasing in January 2024, it sharply declined in February, particularly for Canada. The drop intensified in March 2024 before briefly stabilizing, but the overall trend from February to July 2024 remained downward.

Australia’s popularity over this period was much lower than the UK’s or Canada’s, but the trendline was less jagged, says an ICEF report. Compared to the first week of 2024, the UK, Australia, and Canada respectively saw drops of 25.8%, 25.1%, and 17.6% by 21 July 2024.

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International students optimistic after govt change in the UK
There has been a significant decline in student interest in the UK, Canada, and Australia. However, as per the report, a there has been a recent increase in demand for the UK, which Studyportals attributes to optimism surrounding the outcome of the UK polls.

The previous administration, under Rishi Sunak, was responsible for the removal of most dependants’ rights to accompany international students to the UK. Mr Sunak also actively contemplated a restriction of the Graduate Route, which provides two-to-three years of work rights for international students.

There is now hope among international education stakeholders in the UK and overseas students that the new Labour administration may adopt a less restrictive stance, as per the ICEF report.

How are countries struggling?
Canadian institutions are coping with a consistent decline in demand from top-five student markets, most notably from India (-24.5%) and Iran (-15.5%), as per the report.

The story is similar for the UK, though the data offers a couple of bright spots. Nigerian demand has dropped significantly, falling by about half. At the same time, pageviews are up for the United States (32.4%) and Pakistan (9.7%).

In Australia, institutions are seeing less interest than last year from students in Pakistan and (less dramatically) from students in Sri Lanka and Nepal. On the other hand, there has been a surge in demand from Bangladesh (30.5%) and to a lesser extent, India (10.7%).