The international education sector was defined by change in 2024, as policy updates continued to affect student choice and institutional operations. As we wrap up the year, it’s easy to see the sector as more complex and with more uncertainty ahead. While that complexity isn鈥檛 a bad thing, navigating this new landscape requires careful attention to shifting trends.
This year, the popularity of the “Big Four” English-language destinations1 receded. Meanwhile, destinations like Germany, Ireland, and welcomed more students than ever, and surging interest from countries like Ghana and Nepal reshaped campuses. These trends demonstrate that international student interests are diversifying, setting the stage for future shifts in 2025.
We covered these topics and more in 2024 to provide our readers with real-time strategic insights. Let’s take a look at some of the most pivotal moments and learnings from the past 12 months.
Key Insights at a Glance
- Policy changes in Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia aimed to limit international student inflows at specific study levels. However, these limitations negatively impacted destination appeal and contributed to downturns across most levels of study, not just the ones targeted by these measures.
- News published in source countries about international students in Canada, Australia, the UK, and the US has polarized year-over-year since the pandemic, affecting student outlook.
- Growing student populations from Nepal and Ghana have helped to diversify campuses across major Anglophone study destinations.
- 星空影视Pulse Surveys this fall highlighted rising student interest in studying in the US and the UK, where Australia and Canada have become less desirable.
Shifting International Student Policies Have Ripple Effects
From tweaking post-study visa eligibility to increasing proof of finance requirements, many study destinations announced and implemented changes affecting international students in 2024. These updates, which largely aimed to level out the exponential growth academic institutions experienced following the pandemic, have reshaped the international education landscape.
Canada began the year with a cap on study permits,2 and Australia intended to follow Canada’s lead, announcing a soft cap for 2025 in May.3 This soft cap was later blocked in Australia鈥檚 parliament. Then, in December, a new ministerial direction (MD 111) was announced that will prioritize “student visas for each provider until they reach 80% of their cap figure, also known as their net overseas student commencement number … After an institution reaches this point of its allocation, it will be placed at the end of the queue, giving priority to universities that have not yet reached 80% of their cap.”4
Earlier this fall, our team wrote about what Australia could learn from Canada鈥檚 experience with student caps. We found that student caps in Canada affected every study level, not just those directly limited by the 2024 caps. The resulting reduction in study permit applications was severe: new post-secondary study permit applications fell by an average of 50% year-over-year in Q2 2024.
This September, we predicted that the number of Canadian study permits processed would decrease by almost 40% year-over-year compared to 2023:5
While student interest in Q3 didn’t meet the allotted cap amount, it was higher than we had projected. We predicted 120,000 study permits would be processed in that quarter, but shows the actual number reached closer to 174,000. While that鈥檚 still lower than the previous Q3, when 225,000 permits were processed, it’s encouraging to see that demand may be stabilizing more quickly than anticipated.
Across the pond, the UK issued over 432,000 sponsored study visas to main applicant international students for the year ending June 2024, which is a drop of 13% versus the previous year. Below, you can compare the number of study visas issued for both the year ending June and just the first half of 2024 (January through June)鈥攗se the dropdown just below the title to switch views:
Further reductions are possible, as most sponsored study visas are issued during Q3 of the calendar year: from 2021 to 2023, over 65% of all UK student visas were issued from July to September.
Curious about student numbers in other destinations? Read our updates on the United States and Ireland.
Polarizing Media Content Shifts Perceptions of Study Destinations
As revised education policies garner increasing media coverage, there are long-term effects on destination popularity with potential students. In July, our ApplyInsights team analyzed related online search sentiment and average monthly keyword searches. We found that news in source countries about international students in Canada, Australia, the UK, and the US has become more polarized year-over-year since the pandemic:
We also observed that the average number of monthly keyword searches for studying in these destinations was dropping. Both of these measurements鈥攇lobal media sentiment and average keyword searches鈥攃an be leading indicators of how demand for international education may be changing in individual destinations.
Tracking the Evolution of International Education with Student and Recruitment Partner Surveys
Twice a year, 星空影视surveys students and international recruitment professionals. These short surveys offer insights into which destinations and programs are top-of-mind, the perceived quality and affordability of study destinations, and more.
Study Abroad Interest Rose in Fall 2024
In our Fall 2024 Recruitment Partner (RP) Pulse Survey, over 40% of recruitment professionals reported a recent significant or moderate increase in study abroad interest:
This contrasts with our survey findings from spring 2024, when most counsellors noted a considerable decline in interest. Seeing interest levels bounce back is an encouraging sign that also speaks to the resilience of international students.
Student Interest Shifts to the US Amid Policy Changes Elsewhere
For the first time in our student survey’s history, the highest proportion of respondents were “extremely interested” in studying in the US:
This finding echoed our Fall 2024 RP Pulse Survey, where the US surpassed Canada as the most attractive destination country. As student interest levels shift in the wake of other nations’ policy changes, the US is positioned to attract a larger percentage of international students in 2025.
That said, the re-election of former President Donald Trump is likely to influence student mobility. During his first term as president, foreign enrolment in US institutions dropped by 15%,6 an unprecedented decline over a four year term.7 More American students are considering studying abroad after the election, as well.8 This could be good news for countries like Ireland, as Americans were their second-largest international student population in 2023/24.
While student interest in the US is rising, F-1 visa issuance growth has slowed. In the first eight months of 2024, 322,000 F-1 student visas were issued, down 11% from the same period in 2023.
Meanwhile, the UK saw a positive swing in sentiment of two percentage points between our Fall 2024 and Spring 2024 surveys. This may reflect improved student perception after the UK’s change in government and its subsequent support of measures like the Graduate Route.9
Students had lower interest levels in Australia and Canada in Fall 2024 versus Spring 2024. This was likely due to these countries’ announcement of, and in Canada’s case, implementation of international student caps, among other policy measures which affected international student mobility.
Rising Student Populations Diversify Global Campuses
Over the past few decades, large percentages of international students in the “Big Four” destinations were from China or India. But, as these two countries increase investment in their own education sectors and encourage locals to study domestically, student flows are shifting.
While many international student populations are growing, Ghana and Nepal in particular drove diversity on campuses this year. Both countries have smaller outbound student numbers than India or China, but they’ve grown exponentially over the last few years and are worth watching.
Student Populations from Ghana Continue to Grow
Since 2019, the number of Ghanaian students at institutions in “Big Four” destinations has more than quadrupled. When we reported on Ghana this August, we remarked on its particularly rapid growth in Canada and the US:
In Canada, Ghanaian students jumped from the 37th most common source country for international students in 2018 to 9th in 2023. In the US, student visas issued were on track to meet if not exceed 2023 levels this year.
We also reported that the UK saw a 9% downturn in undergrad acceptances for Ghanaian students in 2024, which may be due to the UK’s revised dependents policy. While two in five Ghanaians are 18 or younger,10 the average age of Ghanaian students using the 星空影视platform was 30. Many students at that age may be weighing if they can bring their families. So, destinations like Australia have an opportunity to attract more Ghanaian students with their more flexible guidelines for dependents. The US is also an attractive option for this growing audience.
20% of Youth from Nepal Plan to Study Abroad. Is Your Institution Ready?
Like Ghana, Nepal has a young population, and one of its largest demographics is 18 to 25 year olds.11 With limited options to study domestically, nearly one in five of Nepal’s post-secondary age students chose to study abroad in 2021 per the latest available data.12 In mid-2024, we looked at how Nepal has evolved as a student population in key Anglophone markets:
With record highs of F-1 student visas being awarded to students from Nepal in 2023/2024, this population is one to watch, especially in high-demand STEM fields. In fact, 2023/24 Open Doors data reported that over 70% of all Nepalese international students were enrolled in STEM programs.
STEM program graduates, from tech to health care, are projected to be in high demand through the next decade in many top study destinations. Increasingly, student searches on our platform are aligning with these in-demand fields.
Looking Forward to 2025
As access to different study destinations and related policies evolve, and new governments put their mark on how education is delivered, the ApplyInsights team is committed to providing thorough coverage of sector-shaping events. We’ll kick off the new year with a look at global student flows based on Project Atlas, before diving into international education trends to watch for in 2025 this January.
While this is our team’s last ApplyInsights article for the year, we encourage you to stay connected with us by following ApplyBoard’s channels on and . And, for direct commentary on how sector changes in our destination markets may affect both students and institutions, we invite you to , on LinkedIn.
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FOOTNOTES:
1. “Big Four” refers to the four major Anglophone study destinations: Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
2. After the study permit cap was announced, the Canadian government paused study permit processing while provinces and territories created new provincial or territorial attestation letter processes.
4. Kim Martin, The PIE. “.” December 2024.
5. “Processed” Canadian study permits refers to permit applications that have been approved, rejected, or withdrawn. “Issued” Canadian study permits refer to the actual permits sent to future students.
6. EdSource, “.” November 2024.
7. Seeing enrolment drop over a four year term is unprecedented, as foreign enrolment has largely grown year-over-year since the 1950s, per .
8. Kim Martin, The PIE. “.” November 2024.
9. Matthew Knott, StudyTravel Network. “.” July 2024.
10. Ghana Statistical Services, .
12. Data courtesy of . The 2021 estimate is the latest available data.
