The UK HE sector generates £73 billion in output, up 24% since 2009, and while UK universities earned £27.9 billion in 2012, international revenues accounted for over 20% of this figure, according to a new UUK report unveiled today at its conference in London.
This means international student spending contributes nearly £5.7 billion to the UK.
International revenues include fee payments from non-UK students, research and consultancy income from international sources and other operating income such as that from residence and catering services.
UUK calculated that each non-EU student contributes over £24,000 to GDP and creates 0.45 FTE (full-time employment).
Nearly 20% of the output generated by the higher education sector can be attributed to the recruitment of non-EU students, and 18% of the jobs generated.
Nearly 20% of the output generated by the higher education sector can be attributed to the recruitment of non-EU students
In his keynote speech at the conference, Universities Minister David Willetts said that universities “transform the lives of individuals and shape our society for the better. But today […] we are focusing on the fact that universities are also powerhouses for economic growth.”
“They are a vital part of the Government’s long term economic plan to build a more resilient economy and create jobs,” he added.
While non-EU students paid £3.2 billion in tuition fees to UK universities (EU students paid an estimated £0.4 billion in fees), more notably non-UK student off-campus expenditure generated £7.37 billion of output across the economy and over 62,380 full-time-equivalent jobs.
Personal off-campus expenditure of international business and recreational visitors to UK universities was estimated to be just over £136 million.
The higher education institutions included in UUK’s study are the 162 universities and colleges featured in Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) data for the academic year 2011–12, all of which are ‘not-for-profit’ enterprises that receive core funding from the public through higher education funding bodies.
