Indians make the largest student base in England, Wales: Report

According to an analysis released in London by The Office for National Statistics (ONS), Indians are the topmost nationality that makes up the student population in England and Wales, with 43,175 of them enrolled at higher educational institutions during the 2021 census.   

This was followed closely by China at 11.2 percent with 41,810 Chinese students enrolled in the two regions of the United Kingdom. As per the census, Indian students were also among the most likely to be employed, at 11.9 per cent after Romania at 21.4 per cent.

While a majority of Indian students recorded English as their main language, Telugu, Urdu, Malayalam, Hindi, Punjabi, Bengali, Gujarati, Tamil and Marathi were among the other languages recorded.

“International students in higher education (HE) are an important sub-group of the population in England and Wales. Studying is one of the main reasons people migrate to the UK. International students contribute to the income of universities through tuition fees, as well as the economy of communities in which they live,” the ONS said.