A report published on 9 July 2026 calculates that international students beginning higher education courses in the UK in the 2024/25 academic year will produce a net economic benefit of £40.4bn over the course of their studies.
The figure comes from detailed modelling that places total economic benefits at £45.1bn against public costs of £4.7bn, delivering a benefit-to-cost ratio of 9.7 to 1. The average net contribution per student stands at approximately £100,000, or £1m for every 10 international students.
These returns support roughly 287,300 full-time equivalent jobs. The net impact has risen by £4.1bn in real terms since the 2021/22 cohort. Yet the data also reveal a clear contraction: the number of international first-year students has fallen by around 54,500, or 12 per cent, since the 2022/23 peak of 459,200.
Constituency-level gains highlight market value
The economic contribution averages £62m per parliamentary constituency, equivalent to £580 per member of the resident population. Benefits are distributed across all nations and regions, drawn from precise term-time address data. London records the highest average net impact per constituency at £181m, or £1,440 per resident. Northern Ireland shows the lowest figure at £270 per resident.
Such variation underscores how a market-driven higher education sector channels resources into local economies without requiring additional taxpayer subsidy beyond the services already accounted for. Public costs cover healthcare net of the immigration health surcharge, housing, education for dependants, public order and safety, and other services. The analysis excludes post-graduation tax revenues, investment, trade links, soft power or cultural impacts.
International students make a positive contribution wherever they study and live.
Rose Stephenson, director of policy and strategy at the Higher Education Policy Institute, said the findings carry direct implications for growth policy. She noted that if the 2022/23 numbers had been sustained, the net economic impact for the current cohort would be £2.9bn higher, equivalent to around 23,300 additional full-time equivalent jobs.
