The research, conducted by consultancy London Economics and commissioned by the Higher Education Policy Institute (Hepi) and Kaplan International Pathways, estimated that the number of first-year international students in 2024-25 had dereased by around 54,500 students, or 12%, over the past two academic years as a result of changes in immigration policy, including restrictions on dependent visas.
The drop in students has resulted in a loss of £2.9 billion to the economy, it found.
A total of 685,565 international students began their U.K. higher education courses in 2024-25.
According to the analysis, which measured the economic impact of international students by combining tuition fee income, students' living expenses, and spending by visiting relatives and friends, the average net economic contribution is approximately £100,000 per international student.
Although the 2024-25 cohort will take away around £4.7 billion from the U.K.'s public budget through spending on services such as healthcare and public safety, they will generate total economic benefits of £45.1 billion over the course of their studies, it found.
