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 140,215 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 51,810, followed by the University of Manchester at 46,860. At the UK's two oldest and most prestigious universities, Oxford and Cambridge, there were 27,340, and 22,975 students respectively. The university with the most students in Scotland was the University of Glasgow at 39,755 students, with Wales' being Cardiff University at 32,725 students, and Northern Ireland's Ulster University having 32,085 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 48,470 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 16,680 pounds of debt, compared with 37,360 in Wales, and 25,730 in Northern Ireland. The overall outstanding student loan debt in the UK reached over 259 billion pounds in 2023/24, with the vast majority of this debt from students who studied in England.

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