Student mobility for higher education tripled in two decades

In the Higher Education Figures at a Glance report released recently, UNESCO said that the number of students studying higher education programs outside of their home country increased from 2.1 million in 2000 to almost 6.9 million in 2022.

North America and Europe combined hosted four million international students in 2022, around 58 per cent of the global total.

The growth in globally mobile higher education students. Source – UNESCO.

Eastern and South-Eastern Asia and Northern Africa and Western Asia were the next largest host regions of international students in 2022, both with approximately 0.8 million students.

The authors said that the proportion of international students in total higher education enrolment worldwide rose from 2.1 per cent in 2000 to 2.7 per cent in 2022.

Among world regions, Oceania had the highest ratio of international students at 21.1 per cent, followed by Europe and Northern America at 8.0 per cent. In contrast, the lowest ratios were 1.0 per cent in Eastern and South-Eastern Asia, 1.2 per cent in Latin America, and the Caribbean and 1.8 per cent in Sub-Saharan Africa.

In total, there were 264 million students enrolled in higher education globally in 2023, compared with 100 million enrolled in 2000. The global enrolment ratio in higher education has more than doubled from 19 per cent to 43 per cent.

Stefania Giannini, UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for Education, said, “The future of higher education is global, digital and mobile. With millions more people pursuing degrees and alternative credentials, international cooperation on qualification recognition is more critical than ever to support mobility and safeguard trust in qualifications.”

The UNESCO Global Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications Concerning Higher Education was adopted in 2019 as the first international treaty on higher education, and entered into force in March 2023. It has been ratified by 38 states, which currently host around two million international students collectively, the organization said.

Australia, France, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea and the UK are among the major study destinations that have ratified the convention.

Higher education business increased by five per cent in 2024 for participants in StudyTravel Magazine’s Annual Agency Survey, building on growth of 19 per cent in the previous year.