Research

Over 50% of the 60 countries studied have improved their English proficiency over the past six years with Scandinavian countries maintaining the lead and Asia overtaking Latin American and the Middle East. Turkey saw the largest improvement in language ability while Sweden has the highest English proficiency score and Iraq the lowest.

The ICEF i-graduate Agent Barometer indicate that Australia has gained ground in the overall attractiveness of study destinations while Canada inched ahead of the UK to be ranked second in the world in terms of overall appeal for international students.The US topped the list with 73% of agents saying it is a "very attractive" study destination.

A new cross-sectoral survey of New Zealand institutions active in the international education market provides a snapshot of an industry that has a very established K-12 international offer, strong reliance on China across the board, a concensus that South Korea is declining as a source region and an appetite for expansion.

Private education in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is a booming market that will be worth $11.2 billion and service 300,000 students in 2015, due to the promise of long-term revenue from a sector where the demand outweighs supply, payment plans that allow tuition fees to be submitted in advance and government that can provide strong support.

The number of fully English-taught Masters in Europe has increased by 42% since 2011 growing at a faster rate than the number of overall Master's programs in Europe. The increase could have a significant impact on mobility flow in and outside of Europe according to a new briefing paper from the Institute of International Education.

More young people are travelling abroad to learn a language, gain work experience and study, allowing them to stay longer at destinations and spend more than the average tourist, according to a global study on the youth travel sector from World Youth Student & Educational (WYSE) Travel Confederation.

The UK and US are set to dominate as international education host countries in 2024, while China, India, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan will all be crucial student source markets in a sector that is predicted to grow to cater for 3.85 million international students, up from 3.04 million in 2011.

Crowd learning and gaming are the latest e-learning trends to make an impact in the burgeoning MOOC culture that is gaining attention in the education industry. These predicted shifts in teaching and learning are set to change education in the next two to five years, according to a report from the OU.

China is essential as a student source market for New Zealand's international education sector, which has seen its value rise in the last academic year to NZ$2.6 billion (US$2.1 billion), up by NZ$100 million (US$82 million), according to new research released this week. It shows China contributed 25% of students and 32% of total onshore spending.

As growth in student mobility is expected to decline in the next seven years the future of global higher education lies in increased education exports say over 20 global higher education leaders in new research commissioned by the UK Higher Education International Unit and Leadership Foundation.

Staggering figures from the the Economist Intelligent Unit show that in order to avoid a rise in regional unemployment and recession, South Asia needs to create one million additional skills training places every month for the next eight years. The report reveals that of the 100 million skilled trainees needed to spur economic growth, South Asia lacks 96 million.

Ninety-six percent of university-aged Turkish students believe that overseas education is a good way to secure better future employment. A booming economy predicted to grow more than 5% annually until 2017 and with the EU's largest youth population, demand for foreign education in Turkey will only continue to flourish says a study by the British Council.

International students add “immeasurable cultural and social value” to Scotland, according to a new report from Universities Scotland, Richer for It, which was produced and released this week. The report will be taken to Westminster to highlight the non-financial value of international education.

International tourist arrivals grew by 5% in the first half of 2013, compared with 2012, underlining a robust tourism market despite economic challenges in some markets. China led the pack in terms of the country notching up the highest expenditure. Destinations welcomed 494 million overnight visitors.

Overall satisfaction levels among foreign HE students across Europe are high, with two-thirds saying they would rate their experience with a nine or 10 out of 10. Based on a student satisfaction survey produced by StudyPortals.eu, they were in fact more satisfied than domestic peers (8.8/10 compared with 8/10).