The Hon Julie Bishop MP

The Minister for Education, Science and Training, the Hon Julie Bishop MP, today welcomed new data that shows total enrolments for 2006 increased by 11% with over 380,000 international student enrolments.

“It is critical for Australia to have strong educational linkages abroad to sustain Australia’s future economic and social development,” Minister Bishop said.

Asia remains Australia’s main source of international students, representing more than three quarters of international enrolments. The highest growth continues to come from India (42% between 2005 and 2006), the Republic of Korea (19%) and China (10%).

The majority of enrolments were in the higher education sector, growing 5% on the previous year, but the largest growth was seen in the vocational education and training sector, with a 26% increase in enrolments.

International education contributed $10.1 billion last financial year, to the Australian economy, making it Australia’s fourth largest export industry, behind coal, iron ore, and tourism.

International education promotes and develops people-to-people links and underpins Australia’s foreign relations, national security, competitiveness in trade and skilled migration.

“This important export industry has made (and continues to make) a vital contribution to the Australian economy,” Minister Bishop said.

“Education is increasingly part of a global enterprise and many comparable countries are competing for international students, including the United Kingdom, Canada, United States and New Zealand. Australia continues to be a destination of choice for an increasing number of international students.

“Over the last decade international students have enriched Australian society and returned to their home with a strong understanding of Australia. They make an important contribution to their home countries in business, academia and government,” Minister Bishop said.
For more details on the main trends, enrolments and commencements, see Attachment, or the AEI website at: http://aei.dest.gov.au

Media Contacts:
Ms Bishop’s Office: Murray Hansen (02) 6277 7460

Dept of Education, Science & Training: Media Unit (02) 6240 7300
Non-media queries: 1300 363 079

Attachment

	Number		Growth Rate
	2005	2006	2004 to 2005	2005 to 2006
Total enrolment	346,079	383,818	6.4%	10.9%
Commencing new enrolments	186,064	211,296	5.0%	13.6%

Details on these trends are released on the AEI website as they become available.

Enrolments
International student enrolments by sector

Sector	2005		2006
Sector	Enrolments	Growth on 2004	Enrolments	Growth on 2005
Higher education	163,779	8.1%	172,297	5.2%
VTE	66,556	12.7%	83,685	25.7%
ELICOS	64,998	5.1%	77,468	19.2%
Schools	25,156	-8.0%	24,717	-1.7%
Other*	25,590	0.1%	25,651	0.2%
Total	346,079	6.4%	383,818	10.9%

* Includes Non-award and Enabling Courses.

International student enrolments by nationality (top 10 markets)

Nationality	2005		2006
Nationality	Enrolments	Growth on 2004	Enrolments	Growth on 2005
China	81,730	15.8%	90,287	10.5%
India	27,605	33.0%	39,166	41.9%
Republic of Korea (South)	26,319	10.5%	31,257	18.8%
Hong Kong	21,343	-7.1%	20,523	-3.8%
Malaysia	19,362	-3.2%	19,166	-1.0%
Thailand	16,514	1.2%	17,889	8.3%
Japan	19,053	-4.9%	17,804	-6.6%
Indonesia	16,121	-11.1%	15,038	-6.7%
United States of America	12,585	-1.6%	12,045	-4.3%
Brazil	7,081	49.7%	10,190	43.9%
Other nationalities	98,366	3.3%	110,453	12.3%
Total	346,079	6.4%	383,818	10.9%

Sector	2005		2006
Sector	Commencements	Growth on 2005	Commencements	Growth on 2006
Higher education	65,836	-0.2%	69,082	4.9%
VTE	38,344	16.5%	49,809	29.9%
ELICOS	49,939	9.5%	59,615	19.4%
Schools	10,533	-8.2%	11,342	7.7%
Other*	21,412	1.3%	21,448	0.2%
Total	186,064	5.0%	211,296	13.6%

* Includes Non-award and Enabling Courses.

International student commencements by nationality (top 10 markets)

Nationality	2005		2006
Nationality	Commence-ments	Growth on 2004	Commence-ments	Growth on 2005
China	44,082	11.8%	46,476	5.4%
India	13,609	12.1%	21,337	56.8%
Republic of Korea (South)	15,921	15.3%	19,008	19.4%
Thailand	9,407	2.6%	10,509	11.7%
Japan	11,446	-8.9%	10,497	-8.3%
United States of America	10,495	-2.7%	9,983	-4.9%
Hong Kong	9,073	-9.9%	9,093	0.2%
Malaysia	7,785	-7.1%	7,842	0.7%
Brazil	5,530	57.9%	7,715	39.5%
Indonesia	6,727	-12.5%	6,624	-1.5%
Other nationalities	51,989	4.8%	62,212	19.7%
Total	186,064	5.0%	211,296	13.6%

Media Release

International student numbers continue to grow