Report

The benefits and costs of international higher education students to the UK economy

This report from UK think tank HEPI explores the benefits and costs of international higher education students to the UK economy.

International students who began higher education courses in the UK in 2024/25 are expected to generate a net economic benefit of £40.4 billion for the UK over the course of their studies, according to a major new report published today by the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) and Kaplan International Pathways.

The report, The benefits and costs of international higher education students to the UK economy, produced by London Economics, finds that the 404,500 international students who started UK higher education courses in 2024/25 will generate total economic benefits of £45.1 billion over the course of their studies, while costing the public purse an estimated £4.7 billion, resulting in a benefit-to-cost ratio of 9.7 to 1.

The analysis estimates that the average net economic contribution is approximately £100,000 per international student, meaning every 10 international students creates around £1 million in net economic impact for the UK economy.

This report comes amid continuing debate over international student policy as more countries than ever are competing to attract international students. In addition to the overall UK-level impacts, the results are broken down by parliamentary constituency – see the interactive dashboard with the constituency-level results below. A full table of constituency-level benefits and a map of regional economic benefits are also available in the attached report,