The consistent quality of educational facilities in Australia, and their reputation not only in Australia, but world-wide, has meant that in recent years there has been a steady increase of international students who choose to study in Australia.
The international education industry is Australia’s largest services export sector, contributing $11.7 billion to the Australian economy in 2006-07, according to government figures.
The report also shows that as of October 2010, there are 599,795 full-fee paying international students enrolled in educational courses around the country. China was the biggest market by enrolments (35.9%) followed by India (9.8%). Continuing this trend, 2010 saw a large 21.9% increase in enrolments from the Philippines, in Asia’s South East, with a total of 4,691 enrolments.
With prestigious campuses that offer top quality courses located all around the country, overseas students can study in cities or in rural Australia. Statistics reveal that international students in Australia do have a tendency to study at institutions located within the cultural capitals of the country, however.
The majority of international students in Australia are coming from countries within Asia; when combined, students from China, India, Republic of Korea, Thailand and Malaysia comprise of 56.9% of international student enrollments across all educational sectors in 2010.
As of October 2010, Higher Education, Vocational Education and Training (VET) and English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students (ELICOS) remain as the three most populated sectors for international student study. Government figures show 225,469 enrolments to date this year for VET, 216,336 enrolments for Higher Education and 102,658 enrolments for ELICOS.
Given recent trends and Australian education’s reputation for excellence, many have predicted that the number of international students studying in Australia will continue to rise.