"Reassuringly, our data indicates that there is still significant interest in the UK as a destination for international students - particularly from Asia and Europe"
Student.com crunched the numbers and revealed that Sydney came in second with Melbourne and Manchester in third and fourth place respectively. In addition to the global rankings, Student.com also shared top cities by country for Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK, and the USA.
The top 10 most popular cities* globally are:
1. London
2. Sydney
3. Melbourne
4. Manchester
5. Glasgow
6. Liverpool
7. Nottingham
8. Sheffield
9. Los Angeles
10. Birmingham
*based on number of accommodation enquiries made from 01 January to 31 December 2017
Luke Nolan, founder and CEO, Student.com, said: “Reassuringly, our data indicates that there is still significant interest in the UK as a destination for international students - particularly from Asia and Europe. However, this is not an excuse to become complacent. With global competition for international students increasing year after year, the UK should do everything it can to support the internationalisation objectives of its universities and maintain its attractiveness as a study destination.”
According to the latest data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency, 19% of students studying in higher education in the UK are from abroad. At full-time postgraduate level, 53 percent of students are from outside the UK.
Alongside its city rankings, Student.com also shared data around when students book accommodation, when they move in, and how far they’ve travelled. Students who booked accommodation with Student.com in 2017 travelled a combined total of over 95 million kilometres to get to their final destinations.
Nolan added: “Students are still willing to travel far and wide for their studies. Let’s keep it this way. It’s important that we all play a part in keeping students globally mobile and making international students feel welcome, whether they’re from a neighbouring country or the other side of the world.”
