New figures show that the number of international students studying in Australia rose by 12 per cent last year.
The latest data from the Department of Education and Training (DET) reveals that up to the end of October 2016 there were 683,034 international students in Australia.
The data also shows that that nine out of the top 10 countries sending students to Australia are located in Asia, with Brazil being the only non-Asian nation.
The country which sends the most people to study in Australia is China, comprising 28 per cent of all student enrolments from overseas.
However, the fastest growing markets over the past four years, from 2013 to 2016, are Brazil (65 per cent growth), India (63 per cent), and Nepal (58 per cent).
The DET reports that all of Australia’s education sectors have seen growth in the year to to October 2016, particularly higher education institutions (by 13 per cent) and vocational programmes (by 12 per cent). Together, they account for 70 per cent of all international enrolments in that period.
It is estimated that international students currently represent about 30 per cent of total enrolments in Australia.
Article published 31st January 2017