In 2022/23 there were estimated to be over 2.94 million students enrolled in higher education courses in the United Kingdom, which was the highest number of enrolled students during this provided time period. Although the number of students in the UK fell from 2.5 million in 2011/12 to 2.27 by 2014/15, this trend reversed in subsequent years, reaching the peak in the most recent year. Largest UK universities At 151,840 students, the mainly remote, Open University had the largest number of students enrolled among UK-based higher education institutions in 2021/22. University College London had the second-highest number of students at 46,830, followed by the University of Manchester at 46,140. At the UK's two oldest and most prestigious universities, Oxford and Cambridge, there were 27,290, and 22,610 students respectively. The university with the most students in Scotland was the University of Glasgow at 42,980 students, with Wales' being Cardiff University at 33,985 students, and Northern Ireland's Ulster University having 34,550 students. Student Debt in the UK For students that graduated from English universities in 2023, the average student loan debt incurred over the course of their studies was over 44,900 pounds. Although the students graduated with less debt from universities in Wales, Northern Ireland, and especially Scotland, this too has been growing in recent years. The overall outstanding student loan debt in the UK reached over 225.95 billion pounds in 2022/23, with the vast majority from students who studied in England.

This release includes more detail on higher education students than was published in the student statistics bulletin in January 2021.

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.

UK: School Enrollment: Tertiary: Male: % Gross data was reported at 49.186 % in 2015. This records a decrease from the previous number of 49.439 % for 2014. UK: School Enrollment: Tertiary: Male: % Gross data is updated yearly, averaging 37.733 % from Dec 1971 (Median) to 2015, with 45 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 55.965 % in 1999 and a record low of 19.224 % in 1971. UK: School Enrollment: Tertiary: Male: % Gross 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. Gross enrollment ratio is the ratio of total enrollment, regardless of age, to the population of the age group that officially corresponds to the level of education shown. Tertiary education, whether or not to an advanced research qualification, normally requires, as a minimum condition of admission, the successful completion of education at the secondary level.; ; 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).

There were 296 higher education institutions in the United Kingdom in the 2022/23 academic year, compared with the previous year when there were 288.

Higher Education Statistics for the UK serves as a quick reference guide to high-level data on all aspects of higher education in the UK.

Higher Education Statistics for the UK includes data collected by HESA (published since 2015/16 as open data) with additional data from the OECD and SLC which is published under copyright. Prior to 2016/17, Higher Education Statistics for the UK was a National Statistics product.

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 first 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. 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.

In 2022/23 income from tuition fees accounted for approximately 52.6 percent of income for higher education institutions in the United Kingdom, compared with 53.2 percent in the previous year.

The Higher Education Statistics Agency Student Data covers information on students, staff, graduates, finances, estates, and other populations from all aspects of the UK higher eduation sector.

United Kingdom UK: Educational Attainment: At Least Bachelor's or Equivalent: Population 25+ Years: Total: % Cumulative data was reported at 29.333 % in 2014. This records an increase from the previous number of 28.388 % for 2013. United Kingdom UK: Educational Attainment: At Least Bachelor's or Equivalent: Population 25+ Years: Total: % Cumulative data is updated yearly, averaging 28.860 % from Dec 2013 (Median) to 2014, with 2 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 29.333 % in 2014 and a record low of 28.388 % in 2013. United Kingdom UK: Educational Attainment: At Least Bachelor's or Equivalent: Population 25+ Years: Total: % Cumulative data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s UK – Table UK.World Bank: Education Statistics. The percentage of population ages 25 and over that attained or completed Bachelor's or equivalent.; ; UNESCO Institute for Statistics; ;

This bulletin provides details of staff employment at UK higher education (HE) providers on 1 December 2023. Detailed analysis of the HESA staff record is available in the Higher Education Staff Open Data.

This bulletin has been produced by Jisc in collaboration with statisticians from the Department for Education, the Office for Students, the Welsh Government, the Scottish Government and the Department for the Economy Northern Ireland. It has been released according to the arrangements approved by the UK Statistics Authority.

This dataset shows the location of Higher Education (HE) and Further Education (FE) institutes in the Great Britain. This should cover Universities and Colleges. Many institutes have more than one campus and where possible this is refelcted in the data so a University may have more than one entry. Postcodes have also been included for instities where possible. This data was collected from various sources connected with HEFE in the UK including JISC and EDINA. This represents the fullest list that the author could compile from various sources. If you spot a missing institution, please contact the author and they will add it to the dataset. GIS vector data. This dataset was first accessioned in the EDINA ShareGeo Open repository on 2011-02-01 and migrated to Edinburgh DataShare on 2017-02-21.

Government spending on higher or tertiary education in the United Kingdom was 7.16 billion British pounds in 2023/24, compared with 4.56 billion in the previous financial year.

These data were generated as part of a two-and-a-half-year ESRC-funded research project examining the digitalisation of higher education (HE) and the educational technology (Edtech) industry in HE. Building on a theoretical lens of assetisation, it focused on forms of value in the sector, and governance challenges of digital data. It followed three groups of actors: UK universities, Edtech companies, and investors in Edtech. The researchers first sought to develop an overview of the Edtech industry in HE by building three databases on Edtech companies, investors in Edtech, and investment deals, using data downloaded from Crunchbase, a proprietary platform. Due to Crunchbase’s Terms of Service, only parts of one database are allowed to be submitted to this repository, i.e. a list of companies with the project’s classification. A report offering descriptive analysis of all three databases was produced and is submitted as well. A qualitative discursive analysis was conducted by analysing seven documents in depth. In the second phase, researchers conducted interviews with participants representing three groups of actors (n=43) and collected documents on their organisations. Moreover, a list of documents collected from Big Tech (Microsoft, Amazon, and Salesforce) were collected to contextualise the role of global digital infrastructure in HE. Due to commercial sensitivity, only lists of documents collected about investors and Big Tech are submitted to the repository. Researchers then conducted focus groups (n=6) with representatives of universities (n=19). The dataset includes transcripts of focus groups and outputs of writing by participants during the focus group. Finally, a public consultation was held via a survey, and 15 participants offered qualitative answers.

This statistical bulletin details the number of students enrolled at Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in NI and NI domiciled students enrolled at HEIs in the United Kingdom (UK) in the academic year 2012/13.

Source agency: Employment and Learning (Northern Ireland)

Designation: National Statistics

Language: English

Alternative title: Enrolments at UK Higher Education Institutions: Northern Ireland Analysis