These statistics on student enrolments and qualifications obtained by higher education (HE) students at HE providers in the UK are produced by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). Information is available for:
Earlier higher education student statistics bulletins are available on the https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/statistical-first-releases?date_filter%5Bvalue%5D%5Byear%5D=&topic%5B%5D=4" class="govuk-link">HESA website.
Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
License information was derived automatically
United Kingdom UK: Over-Age Students: Primary: % of Enrollment data was reported at 1.126 % in 2015. This records an increase from the previous number of 1.067 % for 2014. United Kingdom UK: Over-Age Students: Primary: % of Enrollment data is updated yearly, averaging 1.594 % from Dec 1971 (Median) to 2015, with 31 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 7.386 % in 1979 and a record low of 0.000 % in 2003. United Kingdom UK: Over-Age Students: Primary: % of Enrollment data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.World Bank.WDI: Education Statistics. Over-age students are the percentage of those enrolled who are older than the official school-age range for primary education.; ; UNESCO Institute for Statistics; ;
Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
License information was derived automatically
The United Kingdom: Primary school enrollment, percent of all eligible children: The latest value from 2022 is 102.41 percent, an increase from 102.04 percent in 2021. In comparison, the world average is 100.44 percent, based on data from 149 countries. Historically, the average for the United Kingdom from 1971 to 2022 is 103.51 percent. The minimum value, 99.97 percent, was reached in 2014 while the maximum of 105.94 percent was recorded in 2004.
Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
License information was derived automatically
School enrollment, tertiary (% gross) in United Kingdom was reported at 80.15 % in 2022, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. United Kingdom - School enrollment, tertiary (% gross) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.
Publication can be found here.
Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
License information was derived automatically
School enrollment, secondary (% gross) in United Kingdom was reported at 113 % in 2022, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. United Kingdom - School enrollment, secondary (% gross) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/legal/#copyright-public-domainhttps://fred.stlouisfed.org/legal/#copyright-public-domain
Graph and download economic data for Ratio of Female to Male Secondary School Enrollment for the United Kingdom (SEENRSECOFMZSGBR) from 1971 to 2020 about enrolled, secondary schooling, secondary, females, males, ratio, United Kingdom, and education.
Open Government Licence 3.0http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
License information was derived automatically
Census 2021 data on international student population of England and Wales by country of birth, passport held, age, sex and other characteristics.
These datasets are part of the release: The changing picture of long-term international migration, England and Wales: Census 2021. Figures may differ slightly in future releases because of the impact of removing rounding and applying further statistical processes.
Figures are based on geography boundaries as of 1 April 2022.
This release includes comparisons to the folllowing 2011 Census data:
Quality notes can be found here
Quality information about demography and migration can be found here
Quality information about labour market can be found here
Usual resident
A usual resident is anyone who on Census Day, 21 March 2021 was in the UK and had stayed or intended to stay in the UK for a period of 12 months or more, or had a permanent UK address and was outside the UK and intended to be outside the UK for less than 12 months.
International student
An international student is defined as someone who was a usual resident in England and Wales and meets all the following criteria:
Country of birth
The country in which a person was born. The following country of birth classifications are used in this dataset:
More information about country of birth classifications can be found here.
Passports held
The country or countries that a person holds, or is entitled to hold, a passport for. Where a person recorded having more than one passport, they were counted only once, categorised in the following priority order: 1. UK passport, 2. Irish passport, 3. Other passport. The following classifications were created for this dataset for comparability with other international migration releases:
More information can be found here
Economic activity status
The economic activity status of a person on Census Day, 21 March 2021. The following classification is used in this dataset:
Industry
The industry worked in for those in current employment. The following classification was used for this dataset:
Student accommodation
Student accommodation breaks down household type by typical households used by students. This includes communal establishments, all student households, households containing a single family, households containing multiple families, living with parents and living alone.
More information can be found here
Second address indicator
The second address indicator is used to define an address (in or out of the UK) a person stays at for more than 30 days per year that is not their place of usual residence. Second addresses typically include: armed forces bases, addresses used by people working away from home, a student’s home address, the address of another parent or guardian, a partner’s address, a holiday home. There are 3 categories in this classification.
Detailed description can be found here
Main language (detailed)
This is used to define a person's first or preferred language. This breaks down the responses given in the write-in option "Other, write in (including British Sign Language)". There are 95 categories in the primary classification.
More details can be found here
Proficiency in English language
Proficiency in English language is used to determine how well a person whose main language is not English (English or Welsh in Wales) feels they can speak English. There are a total number of 6 categories in this classification.
More details can be found here
Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
License information was derived automatically
United Kingdom UK: School Enrollment: Secondary: Male: % Net data was reported at 98.477 % in 2015. This records an increase from the previous number of 97.452 % for 2014. United Kingdom UK: School Enrollment: Secondary: Male: % Net data is updated yearly, averaging 91.109 % from Dec 1971 (Median) to 2015, with 41 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 98.477 % in 2015 and a record low of 69.659 % in 1971. United Kingdom UK: School Enrollment: Secondary: Male: % Net data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.World Bank.WDI: Education Statistics. Net enrollment rate is the ratio of children of official school age who are enrolled in school to the population of the corresponding official school age. Secondary education completes the provision of basic education that began at the primary level, and aims at laying the foundations for lifelong learning and human development, by offering more subject- or skill-oriented instruction using more specialized teachers.; ; UNESCO Institute for Statistics; Weighted average; Each economy is classified based on the classification of World Bank Group's fiscal year 2018 (July 1, 2017-June 30, 2018).
Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
License information was derived automatically
This bulletin is the annual first release of HESA student data. For the first time it draws upon data from the revised student data collection (delivered by the Data Futures programme). A comprehensive quality assessment has been undertaken on the dataset and this is detailed in our accompanying 2022/23 student data quality report. A detailed list of findings is available in the data quality and insights resource, which is also accompanied by provider specific data notes. The coverage of data is detailed in the notes section of this release. In summary, we cover data about higher education students and qualifiers from the following types of providers within the UK: Higher education (HE) providers in England registered with the Office for Students (OfS) in the Approved (fee cap) or Approved categories; Publicly funded HE providers in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland; and Further education (FE) colleges in Wales. This bulletin also includes information from the HESA Aggregate Offshore record which can be seen in Figure 12. This separate record counts students studying wholly outside the UK who are either registered with the reporting HE provider or who are studying for an award of the reporting HE provider.
The Health Survey for England (HSE), 2002: Teaching Dataset has been prepared solely for the purpose of teaching and student use. The dataset will help class tutors to incorporate empirical data into their courses and thus to develop students’ skills in quantitative methods of analysis.
All the variables and value labels are those used in the original HSE files, with one exception (New-wt) which is a new weighting variable.
Users may be interested in the Guide to using SPSS for Windows available from Online statistical guides and which explores this dataset.
The original HSE 2002 dataset is held at the UK Data Archive under SN 4912.
Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
License information was derived automatically
School enrollment, tertiary, female (% gross) in United Kingdom was reported at 92.98 % in 2022, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. United Kingdom - School enrollment, tertiary, female (% gross) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.
Open Government Licence 3.0http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
License information was derived automatically
This dataset provides Census 2021 estimates that classify schoolchildren and full-time students aged 5 years and over in England and Wales by student accommodation and by age. The estimates are as at Census Day, 21 March 2021.
Estimates for single year of age between ages 90 and 100+ are less reliable than other ages. Estimation and adjustment at these ages was based on the age range 90+ rather than five-year age bands. Read more about this quality notice.
Area type
Census 2021 statistics are published for a number of different geographies. These can be large, for example the whole of England, or small, for example an output area (OA), the lowest level of geography for which statistics are produced.
For higher levels of geography, more detailed statistics can be produced. When a lower level of geography is used, such as output areas (which have a minimum of 100 persons), the statistics produced have less detail. This is to protect the confidentiality of people and ensure that individuals or their characteristics cannot be identified.
Coverage
Census 2021 statistics are published for the whole of England and Wales. Data are also available in these geographic types:
Student accommodation type
Combines the living situation of students and school children in full-time education, whether they are living:
It also includes whether these households contain one or multiple families.
This variable is comparable with the student accommodation variable but splits the communal establishment type into “university” and “other” categories.
Age
A person’s age on Census Day, 21 March 2021 in England and Wales. Infants aged under 1 year are classified as 0 years of age.
Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
License information was derived automatically
This bulletin is the annual first release of HESA student data. It covers data about higher education students and qualifiers from the following types of providers within the UK: Higher education (HE) providers in England registered with the Office for Students (OfS) in the Approved (fee cap) or Approved categories; Publicly funded HE providers in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland; and Further education (FE) colleges in Wales. These providers submit data to HESA via either the Student record or the Student alternative record. This is the second year that data from both records have been combined together in the figures within this release to provide a more complete picture of higher education within the UK. Further details on coverage can be seen in the notes section of this release. For users wishing to undertake time-series analysis that make use of data drawn exclusively from the HESA Student record (and therefore comparable with the coverage of tables and charts published in previous issues of this bulletin) an option is provided to 'Download source data 051 record only (csv)' underneath each table and chart. Please note that this is the final year this option will be available. HESA do not intend to continue with the production of 051 record only source data. This bulletin also includes information from the HESA Aggregate offshore record and can be seen in figure 12. This separate record counts students studying wholly outside the UK who are either registered with the reporting HE provider or who are studying for an award of the reporting HE provider.
Open Government Licence 3.0http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
License information was derived automatically
Data on the educational attainment of young people who sat their GCSEs in English state schools in the 2012 to 2013 school year, from age 11 to age 22, compiled using the Longitudinal Educational Outcomes database from the Department for Education (DfE). Data are linked to the area a student lived in when they sat their GCSEs, including characteristics such as town size and income deprivation levels.
Open Government Licence 3.0http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
License information was derived automatically
Provides provisional statistics showing how applications for student support in higher education are progressing through the processing stages and showing the number of payments made to students in this cycle. These statistics cover applications assessed by Student Finance England who assess all applications for English students.
Source agency: Business, Innovation and Skills
Designation: Official Statistics not designated as National Statistics
Language: English
Alternative title: student loans
Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
License information was derived automatically
School enrollment, preprimary, male (% gross) in United Kingdom was reported at 106 % in 2020, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. United Kingdom - School enrollment, preprimary, male (% gross) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.
The dataset comprises 13 interview transcripts, with sensitive information redacted. These interviews were conducted online during the Spring and Summer of 2021 and involved international students who had participated in study abroad or degree-seeking programs during the COVID-19 pandemic. The interviews focused on the students' experiences as they transitioned from traditional in-person programs to online and blended learning due to pandemic-related isolation measures.
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/legal/#copyright-public-domainhttps://fred.stlouisfed.org/legal/#copyright-public-domain
Graph and download economic data for Ratio of Female to Male Primary School Enrollment for the United Kingdom (SEENRPRIMFMZSGBR) from 1971 to 2020 about primary schooling, enrolled, females, males, ratio, primary, and United Kingdom.
Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.
Next Steps (also known as the Longitudinal Study of Young People in England (LSYPE1)) is a major longitudinal cohort study following a nationally representative group of around 16,000 who were in Year 9 attending state and independent schools in England in 2004, a cohort born in 1989-90.
The first seven sweeps of the study were conducted annually (2004-2010) when the study was funded and managed by the Department for Education (DfE). The study mainly focused on the educational and early labour market experiences of young people.
In 2015 Next Steps was restarted, under the management of the Centre for Longitudinal Studies (CLS) at the UCL Faculty of Education and Society (IOE) and funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. The Next Steps Age 25 survey was aimed at increasing the understanding of the lives of young adults growing up today and the transitions out of education and into early adult life.
The Next Steps Age 32 Survey took place between April 2022 and September 2023 and is the ninth sweep of the study. The Age 32 Survey aimed to provide data for research and policy on the lives of this generation of adults in their early 30s. This sweep also collected information on many wider aspects of cohort members' lives including health and wellbeing, politics and social participation, identity and attitudes as well as capturing personality, resilience, working memory and financial literacy.
Next Steps survey data is also linked to the National Pupil Database (NPD), the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), the Individualised Learner Records (ILR) and the Student Loans Company (SLC).
There are now two separate studies that began under the LSYPE programme. The second study, Our Future (LSYPE2) (available at the UK Data Service under GN 2000110), began in 2013 and will track a sample of over 13,000 young people annually from ages 13/14 through to age 20.
Further information about Next Steps may be found on the CLS website.
Secure Access datasets:
Secure Access versions of Next Steps have more restrictive access conditions than Safeguarded versions available under the standard End User Licence (see 'Access' section).
Secure Access versions of the Next Steps include:
When researchers are approved/accredited to access a Secure Access version of Next Steps, the Safeguarded (EUL) version of the study - Next Steps: Sweeps 1-9, 2004-2023 (SN 5545) - will be automatically provided alongside.
The Next Steps Linked Education Dataset (ILR), England: Secure Access (SN 8577) includes data files from the Department for Education’s Individualised Learner Records (ILR) for those cohort members who provided consent to education linkage in the age 25 sweep. The ILR contains information about learners and their learning undertaken in further education (FE) in England. The following linked ILR data are available:
These statistics on student enrolments and qualifications obtained by higher education (HE) students at HE providers in the UK are produced by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). Information is available for:
Earlier higher education student statistics bulletins are available on the https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/statistical-first-releases?date_filter%5Bvalue%5D%5Byear%5D=&topic%5B%5D=4" class="govuk-link">HESA website.