The Higher Education Policy Institute and Kaplan International Pathways have published a new report, The costs and benefits of international students by parliamentary constituency, conducted by London Economics. The study shows analysis of both the costs and the benefits to the UK of welcoming 231,000 new international students each year. The research based on the 2015 cohort made a net contribution of £20.35bn to the UK economy over the length of their courses. Non-EU students accounting for 74% (172,105) of the 231,065 international students in the cohort while EU students made up 26% (58,960).
Headline data reported by HEPI reveals:
- the gross benefits – including tuition fees, other spending and economic knock-on effects – of international students amount to £22.6 billion
- these gross benefits are, on average, £87,000 for each EU student and £102,000 for each non-EU student
- the public costs of hosting international students – including education, health and social security – total £2.3 billion
- these public costs are, on average, £19,000 for each EU student and £7,000 for each non-EU student
- the net impact (benefits minus costs) of hosting international students totals £20.3 billion
- this net impact is, on average, £68,000 for each EU student and £95,000 for each non-EU student
- the net impact of international students varies by region, from £0.9 billion in Northern Ireland, to £4.64bn in London.