In 2024/25, there were an estimated **** million students enrolled in higher education courses in the United Kingdom, compared with **** million in 2022/23, the highest number of enrolled students during this provided time period. Although the number of students in the UK fell from *** million in 2011/12 to *****million by 2014/15, this trend reversed in subsequent years, reaching the peak in the most recent year. Largest UK universities At ******* students, the mainly remote, Open University had the largest number of students enrolled among UK-based higher education institutions in 2022/23. University College London had the second-highest number of students at ******, followed by the University of Manchester at ******. At the UK's two oldest and most prestigious universities, Oxford and Cambridge, there were ******, and ****** students respectively. The university with the most students in Scotland was the University of Glasgow at *******students, with Wales' being Cardiff University at ****** students, and Northern Ireland's Ulster University having ****** students. Student Debt in the UK For students that graduated from English universities in 2024, the average student loan debt incurred over the course of their studies was over ****** British pounds. Although students graduated with less debt from universities in Wales, Northern Ireland, and especially Scotland, this too has been growing recently. In 2024, students from Scottish Universities graduated with an average of ****** pounds of debt, compared with ****** in Wales, and ****** in Northern Ireland. The overall outstanding student loan debt in the UK reached over *** billion pounds in 2023/24, with the vast majority of this debt from students who studied in England.

In 2023/24, the Open University, which focuses on remote learning, had approximately ******* students enrolled on courses, the highest in the UK during that academic year. After the Open University, University College London had the highest number of students in the UK, at ******, while the University of Manchester had the second-highest, at ******. The UK's oldest university, The University of Oxford, had ****** students studying there in this academic year.

This bulletin is the annual first release of HESA student data. It draws upon data from the revised student data collection (delivered by the Data Futures programme) and marks the second year of reporting using the new data model. Once again, a comprehensive quality assessment has been undertaken on the dataset and this is detailed in our accompanying 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 Northern Ireland and Scotland; and -Providers in Wales that are funded directly for higher education provision by Medr and providers in Wales that return data to HESA about specifically designated courses. 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.

There were approximately ***** million pupils attending schools in the United Kingdom in 2024/25, compared with ***** million in the previous year and **** million in 2010/11.

This bulletin is the annual first release of HESA student data. It draws upon data from the revised student data collection (delivered by the Data Futures programme) and marks the third year of reporting using the new data model. We have increased confidence in data quality due to Jisc actively advancing early quality assurance initiatives that shift quality assurance guidance relevant to onward use of the data earlier in the process with providers, reducing reliance on post-collection quality assurance and strengthening data quality at the source. A comprehensive post-collection quality report was not produced for the 24/25 academic year. Please refer to our data quality and insights resource for further information on data quality and 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 Northern Ireland and Scotland; and -Providers in Wales that are funded directly for higher education provision by Medr and providers in Wales that return data to HESA about specifically designated courses. 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.

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; ;

There were 124,580 students enrolled at the UK-based Open University for the 2024/25 academic year, compared with 152,245 in the 2020/21 academic year, which was by far the highest number of students enrolled during this provided time period and a reflection of the move towards distant learning after the COVID-19 pandemic.

This statistic shows the number of students enrolled in United Kingdom (UK) higher education institutions in the 2018/19 academic year, by nationality. In this year, there were just over ****** Chinese students enrolled in Higher Education providers in the UK.

This file contains information on the number of higher education students in the UK, broken down by sex, level of education, mode of study, subject group and domicile.

This bulletin is the annual first release of HESA student data. It draws upon data from the revised student data collection (delivered by the Data Futures programme) and marks the second year of reporting using the new data model. Once again, a comprehensive quality assessment has been undertaken on the dataset and this is detailed in our accompanying 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 Northern Ireland and Scotland; and -Providers in Wales that are funded directly for higher education provision by Medr and providers in Wales that return data to HESA about specifically designated courses.

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.

Subject time series data

In 2024/25, the Open University, which focuses on remote learning, had approximately 124,580 students enrolled in courses, the highest in the UK during that academic year. After the Open University, University College London had the highest number of students in the UK, at 51,315, while the University of Manchester had the second-highest, at 46,305. The UK's oldest university, the University of Oxford, had 26,225 students studying there in this academic year.

United Kingdom Number of Students: Country of Domicile (CD): Higher Education (HE) data was reported at 307,535.000 Person in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 310,550.000 Person for 2016. United Kingdom Number of Students: Country of Domicile (CD): Higher Education (HE) data is updated yearly, averaging 308,710.000 Person from Dec 2012 (Median) to 2017, with 6 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 312,010.000 Person in 2015 and a record low of 299,490.000 Person in 2013. United Kingdom Number of Students: Country of Domicile (CD): Higher Education (HE) data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Higher Education Statistics Agency. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.G066: Higher Education Student Enrolments: By Country of Domicile.

This file contains information on the number of pupils in the UK, by age, sex and school type.

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.

No of Students: CD: HE: Others data was reported at 105,130.000 Person in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 107,040.000 Person for 2016. No of Students: CD: HE: Others data is updated yearly, averaging 106,887.500 Person from Dec 2012 (Median) to 2017, with 6 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 107,895.000 Person in 2015 and a record low of 103,790.000 Person in 2013. No of Students: CD: HE: Others data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Higher Education Statistics Agency. The data is categorized under Global Database’s UK – Table UK.G066: Higher Education Student Enrolments: By Country of Domicile.

No of Students: CD: HE: USA data was reported at 17,580.000 Person in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 17,115.000 Person for 2016. No of Students: CD: HE: USA data is updated yearly, averaging 16,672.500 Person from Dec 2012 (Median) to 2017, with 6 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 17,580.000 Person in 2017 and a record low of 16,230.000 Person in 2013. No of Students: CD: HE: USA data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Higher Education Statistics Agency. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.G066: Higher Education Student Enrolments: By Country of Domicile.

No of Students: CD: HE: China: England data was reported at 80,385.000 Person in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 77,770.000 Person for 2016. No of Students: CD: HE: China: England data is updated yearly, averaging 69,910.000 Person from Dec 2009 (Median) to 2017, with 9 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 80,385.000 Person in 2017 and a record low of 40,160.000 Person in 2009. No of Students: CD: HE: China: England data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Higher Education Statistics Agency. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.G066: Higher Education Student Enrolments: By Country of Domicile.