Applications for undergraduate courses through UCAS from outside the UK have increased, despite a drop in overall applications, statistics have revealed.

The UK’s undergraduate sector has seen solid growth in international applicants as latest UCAS figures show applicants from outside the EU has increased by 8% to 65,440, the highest on record.

Latest UCAS figures reveal non-EU applications reached a record high 58,450 as of January 2018. Applications from the EU also increased on 2017 figures.

Combined international acceptances increased by 1.8%, marking the fifth consecutive year that international acceptances have increased, despite the EU decline.

A 2% rise in international applicants for full-time undergraduate study in the UK over the last year was not enough to offset a 5% fall in applicants from the EU, according to the latest figures from UCAS.

Stakeholders have pointed to a lack of clarification over how Brexit would impact EU students as the reason for a 7% drop in UCAS applications from the EU.

More students from the EU were accepted to a UK university than ever before in 2016, the latest UCAS statistics have revealed, while acceptances from outside the EU have dropped for the first time in five years.

In the first UCAS statistics published relating to the next academic year, there has been a recorded 7% increase in applicants from the EU and a 3% increase from those outside the EU for undergraduate study. Statistics by domicile have also been released.