International students in Australia
How many international students are studying in Australia?
Australia is a popular study destination with students from around the world wishing to gain a top-quality education. Each year, many new international students enrol in Australian courses and add to the already significant international student body around the country.
In 2017, 799,371 international students were enrolled in education programs in Australia. Of these, there were 350,472 international students enrolled in the higher education sector.
Which education sectors are international students studying in?
Most of the international students in Australia are studying in the higher education sector, followed by the Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector, the English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students (ELICOS) sector and the schools sector (see table below).
| Sector | International student enrolments 2017 |
|---|---|
| Higher education | 350,472 |
| VET | 217,696 |
| ELICOS | 155,448 |
| Schools | 25,762 |
| Non-award | 49,993 |
| Total in Australia | 799,371 |
Which states and territories are international students studying in?
New South Wales and Victoria attract the largest numbers of international students. The other states and territories have smaller numbers of international students and smaller numbers of students overall.
| State/territory | International student enrolments 2017 |
|---|---|
| NSW | 304,545 |
| VIC | 253,076 |
| QLD | 123,737 |
| WA | 53,897 |
| SA | 35,821 |
| ACT | 16,910 |
| TAS | 8,889 |
| NT | 2,495 |
Where are Australia's international students from?
| Nationality | International student enrolments 2017 |
|---|---|
| China | 231,191 |
| India | 87,615 |
| Brazil | 36,496 |
| Nepal | 35,423 |
| Malaysia | 32,899 |
| Republic of Korea | 31,112 |
| Thailand | 30,730 |
| Vietnam | 30,536 |
| Colombia | 21,628 |
| Indonesia | 20,028 |
| All nationalities | 799,371 |
The information in this article was sourced from the Australian Government's Department of Education and Training 2017 international student enrolment data.
