Australian Department of Education and Training (DET) has released a latest data which shows the strong growth of Australia in International Students Enrollment in 2016. The reports suggests 12% rise in international enrollment and 11% rise in commencements in 2016 compared to 2015.
The statistics given by DET track total course enrolments based on reporting from institutions and also from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP). This method results in an enrollment count that is considerably higher than the actual head count or FTE enrollments for a given period.
According to DET, International Students Enrollment data generally does not represent the number of overseas students in Australia or the number of student visas issued in different countries. Instead data counts actual course enrollments. The exception is the data at the beginning of a month which represents a close approximation to the number of students enrolled on that day. Sometimes due to this approach, cases arise where students could be counted more than once.
According to the report, all education sectors have witnessed growth in 2016. Higher Education Institutions had a growth of +13% and vocational programs had a growth of +12%, which together accounted for 70% of all international enrollment year-to-date (YTD) in October 2016.
More broadly, all sectors have seen growth from 2013 onward, and total enrollment in Australia has grown by 36% YTD October 2016 compared to the same period four years earlier.
Sending Countries:
- China is by far the largest sender with 28% of all enrolments YTD October 2016
- Roughly three in four foreign students in Australia come from Asia
- Nine of Australia’s top ten sending markets are also found in Asia except Brazil
- The top ten countries accounted for nearly seven in ten international students in Australia in 2016
- The fastest growing markets over the four years from 2013 to 2016 were India (+63%), Brazil (+65), and Nepal (+58)
