In 2021, international (EU and non-EU) Higher Education students at UK universities generated an estimated £20.65 billion in exports through living expenditure and tuition fees (£19.36 billion in 2020), which accounts for around 74.41% of the total value of education exports and TNE activity (73.72% in 2020).
Tuition fee income and living expenditure from non-EU students make up £15.94 billion in exports. They represent the largest portion of HE education-related exports (74%), and a large proportion of total education-related exports and TNE activity (57%).
International students at pathway providers created £0.45 billion in education-related exports in 2021, and this has been relatively stable over the past few years.
Fee income and living expenditure from EU students have fallen slightly in 2021. This is due to falls in EU student numbers.
Table 4 below shows total revenue from education-related exports and TNE activity in UK Further Education from 2010 to 2021.
The total revenue peaked at £1.02 billion in 2011 and then declined steadily over the years, reaching a low of £0.16 billion in 2020. In 2021, the total revenue increased slightly to £0.24 billion, with fee income contributing £0.07 billion, living expenditure £0.12 billion, and other income £0.05 billion.
Table 5 below shows the total revenue from education-related exports and TNE activity for schools in the UK from 2010 to 2021.
The total revenue increased steadily over the years, growing from £0.63 billion in 2010 to £1.05 billion in 2019 when it peaked. The revenue has been slowly decreasing since 2020 - reaching £0.92 billion in 2021.
The total revenue from education-related exports and TNE activity for ELT in the UK saw a declining trend from 2010 to 2016, dropping from £2.23 billion in 2010 to £1.55 billion in 2016. However, the revenue started recovering from 2017 onwards, reaching £1.84 billion in 2019.
In 2020, ELT revenue plummeted to £0.49 billion. While there was a slight recovery in 2021 with £0.46 billion in revenue, it remained significantly lower relative to the period spanning 2010 to 2019.
The total revenue from education-related products and services exports saw a steady increase from £1.51 billion in 2010 to £2.21 billion in 2019. The major contributors were education-related publishing (growing from £0.87 billion to £1.00 billion) and education-related equipment (£0.48 billion to £0.86 billion). Revenue from qualification awarding bodies also expanded from £0.14 billion to £0.34 billion over the period. However in 2020 there was a slight dip in total revenue to £2.09 billion.
In 2021 the total revenue had recovered to £2.15 billion, with qualification awarding bodies becoming the fastest growing segment at £0.39 billion.
The transnational education (TNE) revenue across higher education, further education, schools, English language training, and early years saw consistent growth from 2010 to 2020. Schools generated the highest TNE revenue, increasing from £0.61 billion in 2010 to £1.38 billion in 2020. Higher education TNE revenue also expanded significantly from £0.35 billion to £0.77 billion over the same period. Further education, English language training, and early years contributed smaller but steadily rising revenues. In 2021, schools was still the largest contributor to TNE activity followed by Higher Education.