Question
Asked by
To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Young of Norwood Green on 10 February (WA 154), what are the estimated net and gross annual export earnings for the higher education sector from overseas students attending publicly funded higher education institutions. [HL2659]
Gross export earnings for the HE sector were estimated to be over £5.3 billion in the 2007-08 academic year—this includes the international revenue earned directly by the universities together with the additional personal expenditure of international students and visitors.
£2.9 billion of this was direct income. The sources of this income are shown in the table
Source of income Amount Tuition fees and education grants £1,887 million Research grants and contracts £548 million Other services rendered £245 million Other general income £259 million Total £2,939 million
Source: UUK
These figures do not include income from international students studying below HE level, or those studying at HE level in further education institutions.
Equivalent information on international students attending private HE institutions is not held centrally. There are a number of private universities based in the UK whose students will benefit the UK to an extent, although these are not included in the above figures. No estimate is available for the net export earnings.
Source: “The Impact of Universities on the UK Economy”, Universities UK (2009)