In the boom year 2023, there were 453,796 international students, onshore and offshore, in universities in Australia, up 15.2% from 2022, and back up to pre-pandemic 2019.
These international students in 2023 made up 31.0% of the students in Australian universities, from 27.4% in 2022 and back up to the pre-pandemic level in 2019.
Included in the growth of 15.2% in the number of international students is growth of 35.7% from 2022 to 2023 in the number of commencing international students.
International Students 2023
The Australian Department of Education in September 2024 released data on international student numbers in Australian higher education institutions in 2023. This analysis edits that data to include only the 42 Australian universities[1].
In the 42 Australian universities, there were 453,796 international students, onshore and offshore, in 2023, up 15.2% from 393,988 a year earlier in 2022, and back up to the pre-pandemic 453,833 in 2019. These 453,796 international students in 2023 made up 31.0% of the 1,462,037 students in Australian universities, from 27.4% a year earlier and back up to the figure 30.6% in pre-pandemic 2019.
Included in the growth of 15.2% in the number of international students is growth of 35.7% in the number of commencing international students, from 162,588 in 2022 to 220,638 in 2023.
Table 1: Change in Student Numbers 2022 to 2023
| 2022 | 2023 | Change % | |
| Commencements | |||
| Domestic | 369,105 | 363,892 | -1.4% |
| International | 162,588 | 220,638 | +35.7% |
| Total | 531,781 | 584,842 | +10.0% |
| Enrolments | |||
| Domestic | 1,036,446 | 1,007,342 | -2.8% |
| International | 393,988 | 453,796 | +15.2% |
| Total | 1,435,626 | 1,462,037 | +1.8% |
In the first perfect storm, a decade ago, the proportion of international students in Australian universities dropped from 27.7% in 2009 to 24.3% in 2013, then grew to 29.0% in 2018 and 30.6% in 2019. In the second perfect storm, the proportion dropped from 30.6% in 2019 to 28.5% in 2020, 26.2% in 2021 and 27.4% in 2022, then rose to 31.0% in 2023, as in Chart 1.
Chart 1: International Students in Australian Universities: Onshore and Offshore
The boom figure in 2023, 453,796 international students making up 31.0% of the 1,462,037 students in Australia’s 42 universities, comes ahead of the third perfect storm in 2024.
Across the 42 universities in 2023, the proportion of international students ranged from 5.0% to 52.8%, with the mean 27.6% and the median figure 26.4%, as in the chart. Group of 8 universities are in red.
Chart 2: Proportions of International Students in Australian Universities: Onshore and Offshore
In the above chart, the university with the highest proportion of international students is Murdoch University, where 12,706 international students made up 52.8% of 24,069 students in total. Next is The University of Sydney, where 37,529 international students made up 49.3% of 76,105 students in total.
It is important to note that that this release covers 2023, ahead of the 2024 perfect storm.
The Department of Education Selected Higher Education Statistics – 2023 Student Data, released in September 2024, are at https://www.education.gov.au/higher-education-statistics/student-data/selected-higher-education-statistics-2023-student-data.
Strategy and Policy are guided by Research in Education
Detail is in the paper International Students 2023 at the What’s New page of www.spre.com.au
[1] The 42 universities in Australia include Australia’s 37 public universities plus Avondale University, University of Divinity, Bond University, The University of Notre Dame Australia and Torrens University Australia Limited.
