Foreign enrolment in Canadian K-12 held steady in 2024/25

International student enrolment in public school boards in Canada declined marginally this year. The latest data from the Canadian Association of Public Schools – International (CAPS-I) reveals that total student numbers dropped to 33,199 for the 2024/25 school year. This compares to a total of 34,070 in 2023/24 for a -2.5% decrease overall. However, about half of that difference is accounted for a variance in the number of reporting school districts over 2023/24 and 2024/25.

As we see in the chart below, however, while short-term enrolments (programs of four months or less) increased by 153 students year-over-year, long-term numbers (enrolments of one semester or more) took a more serious dip and fell by more than 1,000 students. Given the relative spend of long-term and short-term students, that -3.5% decrease in long-term enrolments is the more significant change this year.

Total fee-paying international students enrolment as reported by CAPS-I members, 2015/16–2024/25. Source: CAPS-I

Where do students come from?

There is some variety in terms of sending markets for long-term students as opposed to short-term enrolments. When it comes to the former, China remains far and away the biggest sender, accounting for nearly a third of all long-term students – and sending more than three times the next-largest source market (Germany) in 2024/25. It would not be overstating the case to say that as China goes, so goes the overall enrolment picture for CAPS-I members. The decline in Chinese numbers from their pre-COVID high in 2018/19 closely reflects the overall decrease in enrolments reports by CAPS-I school boards.

Top ten sending markets for long-term enrolments in CAPS-I member programs, 2018/19–2024/25. Source: CAPS-I

We see a different mix of sending markets for short-term studies. China and Germany remain near the top of the table (5th and 4th, respectively) but after Japan, Colombia, and Spain.

Top ten sending markets for short-term enrolments in CAPS-I member programs 2018/19–2024/25. Source: CAPS-I

CAPS-I notes a “significant decrease” in the numbers of short-term students from China, South Korea, and Thailand, and also for Mexico and Hong Kong, neither of which remains among the top ten sending markets this year.