Question on the UK’s international ranking as a higher education destination from Stephen Timms MP

Written question answered on Monday 14 May 2018

Stephen Timms MP (Labour) asked the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of trends in the level of the UK’s international ranking as a destination for higher education in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Answered on 14 May 2018 bySam Gyimah, Minister of State for Universities:

UNESCO statistics show that, in each of the last five years of available data (2011 to 2015), the UK was the second most popular study destination for oversea tertiary students, second only to the US.

Numbers of international higher education students remain at record highs, with over 170,000 non-EU entrants to UK higher education institutions for the seventh year running. We welcome genuine international students who choose to come to the UK to study and there continues to be no limit on the number who can do so.