International Students Enrolment in Higher Education has Increased Threefold Since 2000 and Continue Growing

Study Abroad is not just an option anymore, it is expanding like anything and booming everyday. Many students and families make massive efforts to put their finances and lifetime earnings, pinning their dreams on the study abroad journey. People, specifically from countries that are still developing, make this transition in the hope of gaining better education and securing a professional career, which brings success not only to them but also improves the lives of their families through them. There is enough evidence by now that the transition all these people have made till now has been rewarding, evidenced by the multifold increase in the number of students internationally at the higher education level.

According to the most recent UNESCO figures, higher education enrollments are continuing to grow rapidly around the world. Since the year 2000, global enrollment in higher education has increased by a factor of 2.5. Over the past twenty years, the total number of overseas students pursuing higher education has risen by over threefold, increasing compared to 2.1 million in 2000 to a staggering 6.9million in 2022.  The European continent and North America hosted over forty percent of the globe's mobile students as of 2022. International students accounted for 2.1% of the entire higher education enrollment worldwide in 2000, rising to 2.7% by 2022. Unsurprisingly, the proportion of international students varies by global region. For example, almost one out of every tenth academic student in Europe and North America is an overseas student. However, this proportion doubles in Oceania, where one out of every five learners traversed a border to study.

Globally, the availability of higher education varies similarly. The worldwide mean gross enrolment ratio in institutions of higher learning has more than doubled this century, rising from 19% in 2000 to 43% in 2023. According to UNESCO, the global enrolment average conceals major differences in access to higher schooling, with Europe and North America having the highest rate at 79% and Sub-Saharan Africa having the lowest at 9%.

When considering such UNESCO statistics, proceed with caution as usual. Those associated with the international movement describe students who pursue higher education abroad. One obvious consequence is that these numbers do not reflect the significant number of students who cross boundaries for language immersion,K-12, or college programs. Nonetheless, this remains an important measure and a frequently referred to data point that acts like a proxy for the total number of global pupils moving around across all academic categories.

There are completely reliable algorithms that predict that the number of students studying abroad will rise to 9 million by 2030, as well as these updated UNESCO figures might indicate that study abroad agencies should be well on track to meet that end-of-decade goal.