In many countries around the world, the international education sector was reshaped in 2024. From study permit caps to evolving post-study work opportunities, government practices revised students’ expectations. Meanwhile, shifting financial requirements and fluctuating currencies meant many international students’ plans changed to accommodate their budget. While these changes were felt globally, many occurred within the top study abroad destinations, potentially impacting millions of current and future international students.
Today, we’re evaluating how these shifts impacted student visa numbers in 2024 across the four largest Anglophone study destinations: Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In many鈥攂ut not all鈥攃ases, international student populations remained stable or declined year-over-year. However, some student populations showed resiliency and growth, highlighting key opportunities for institutions looking to fill seats within the new global landscape. Read on to discover what the latest student visa trends mean for institutions and the students who plan to study with them in 2025 and beyond.
Key Insights at a Glance
- In 2024, the number of student visas granted in each of the “Big Four” study destinations1 dropped by at least 12% year-over-year.2
- Australia, the UK, and the US granted more student visas to Chinese students than any other student population in 2024. In the US and the UK, China reclaimed the top spot from India.
- Indian students accounted for the most new Canadian study permit approvals over the last calendar year.
- While students from China and India received the most new student visas across the Big Four in 2024, the third-largest group of incoming students varied. Vietnamese students claimed the third spot in Australia and the US, while Filipino students in Canada and Pakistani students in the UK also ranked third.
Student Visas Stabilize after Post-Pandemic Boom
After banner years in 2022 and 2023, the international education sector softened across major destinations last year. The number of granted student visas slowed during the 2024 calendar year in major Anglophone study destinations, although at different rates. While year-over-year numbers dropped for all Big Four study destinations, the US and UK saw a slower rate of change, at -12% and -14% respectively:
Among these top destinations, student visa issuances fluctuated the least in the US. F-1 visa issuances hovered around 400,000 in each year since 2021, helped by America’s comparative policy stability over this period and its top-ranked institutions. Last year, half of the US’ top 20 largest incoming student populations by visa issuance grew, more than in any of the other Big Four destinations.3
By contrast, Canada saw substantial changes after student visa approval numbers grew in 2022 and 2023. In 2024, only 270,000 Canadian student visas were approved, representing a 48% drop from 2023. While some of this slowdown was steered by a series of policy updates, including the implementation of study permit caps, the resulting uncertainty also led to a more pessimistic shift in how the country is perceived by some global recruitment professionals and future students.
Across the pond, the number of UK student visas issued to main applicants climbed year-over year in 2022, before reversing course in 2023. In 2024, issuances dipped just below 400,000. However, student visas issued still remained above the previous low point (383,000) in 2021. Our team’s early analysis noted that the number of UK student visa applications processed in Q4 of 2024 was almost 10% higher than in Q4 2023, which illustrates that students from around the world remain very interested in a UK-based education.
Meanwhile, after Australia reopened to new international students in 2022 after the COVID-19 pandemic, its international student population grew rapidly, with continued expansion in 2023. However, in 2024, the number of Australian student visas granted dropped by 23% year-over-year. This drop coincided with the Albanese government鈥檚 proposed study permit caps which, similar to Canada’s, reshaped multiple elements of the international student program including proof of finance requirements and a lower age cap on the Temporary Graduate visa.
Changing levels of interest in top Anglophone destinations also appear in recent search trends. 香蕉视频’s analysis of search engine data from 2024 has revealed that the number of 鈥渟tudy in鈥� queries for Australia, Canada, the US, and the UK dropped聽from the highs seen in 2022 and 2023.
Comparing Visa Acceptance Levels Among Key International Student Populations
As student visa landscapes shifted across destination markets, outcomes for students from key source countries did as well. Let鈥檚 break down the latest trends among some of the world鈥檚 largest student populations.
China
In 2024, the number of Australian student visas granted to international students from China grew by 7% year-over-year. This was in contrast to the US, UK, and Canada, where overall numbers dropped:
Taking a closer look at these destination declines, Chinese international students were approved for 19% fewer study permits in Canada than in 2023. Similarly, they were issued 6% fewer study permits for the UK year-over-year and 10% fewer US F-1 visas were issued to Chinese students in 2024 versus 2023.
However, as the total number of student visas issued or approved also dropped in all of these destination countries in 2024, the proportion of total visas granted to Chinese students actually went up between one and eight percentage points in each of these destinations. This means that the Chinese international student population actually weathered the downward pressures of 2024 more effectively than many other major student populations, which helps to highlight the importance of attracting a diverse student audience to academic institutions and broader communities. As Chinese students compose over 20% of the incoming international student population in Australia, the UK, and the US, they are and will remain a key cohort for many institutions, especially at the post-secondary level.
India
Since the pandemic, students from India received the highest number of approved Canadian study permits. In fact, in 2023, nearly half of Canada’s 516,000 approved study permits went to Indian students. Likewise, Indian students were the largest new student population in the UK in 2023, and the second largest in Australia and the US:
However, India鈥檚 positive momentum reversed in all 鈥淏ig Four鈥� destinations in 2024. Canada saw the largest decline鈥攄own 57% year-over-year鈥攄ue to a combination of factors including shifting geopolitical relations, increased proof of finances, and visa application updates. While Canada weathered the biggest change, student visas for Indian students declined by at least 26% in 2024 in the other three Big Four destinations as well. Although India will likely continue to be a major source of new international students in 2025 and beyond, this softening demand once again demonstrates the importance of diversification and broad student outreach.
Nigeria
Nigeria鈥檚 high unemployment rates and young population (the country’s median age is 18.1 years)4 means becoming an international student is an attractive prospect to young Nigerians who want to stand out in a crowded job market. These facts helped drive rising study abroad interest among Nigerian students, and at the start of the 2020s, Nigerian students were exploring international education at an unprecedented rate:
After growing steadily in 2021 and 2022, Canadian study permits approved for Nigerian students jumped by 131% year-over year in 2023, helping Nigeria become Canada’s fastest-growing international student population at that time. However, this trend reversed in 2024, as a depressed naira made studying in Canada鈥攁nd elsewhere鈥� much more expensive for Nigerian students.5 Reduced study permit (or student visa) approval rates for many African nations in 2024 also contributed to this change.6
Changing currency valuation also affected Nigerian student numbers in the UK, the US, and Australia: student visa figures for Nigerian students started to drop in these destinations in 2023. While the Nigerian naira hovered around 380 naira per US$1 from 2020 through 2022, February 2023 marked the first of several drops in it’s value. By July 2023, US$1 was worth 756 naira and by March 2024, the exchange rate was 1,605 naira to every US dollar.7 This challenging financial reality was compounded by another contributing factor: Nigerian students are among the most likely to bring dependents while studying abroad. As such, the UK’s 2023 dependents policy change affected their mobility more severely than other student populations, which helps explain the sharp drop in UK visas Nigerian students received in 2023 and 2024.
Vietnam
While Vietnamese international student populations are comparatively smaller in Canada and the UK, they’re a key part of campuses in Australia and the US:
Vietnamese students received the third-most US F-1 student visas last year, surpassing South Korea who held the spot in 2023. Canada also saw a 1% bump last year in study permits approved for Vietnamese students, compared to 2023.
Although Australian student visas granted to Vietnamese students dropped by 36% year-over-year in 2024, Vietnam remained the third-largest student sending country for Australia. Contributing to this decline were updated visa fees, stricter language proficiency requirements, and a decade-low grant rate of 76% for Vietnamese students.
Student Populations to Watch in 2025 and Beyond
Even amid the challenges of 2024, student mobility data shows several populations which are worth watching for their growth potential in 2025 and beyond.
Among these are a few European nations: although their home countries are popular study destinations, more German and French students received American, Australian, and UK student visas in 2024 than in 2023. Students from Italy, Spain, and Great Britain and Northern Ireland also received more US F-1 visas last year than in previous years.
Meanwhile, students from Pakistan rose past Nigerian students to receive the third-highest number of main applicant student visas in the UK in 2024, up 14% from their 2023 level and reaching 35,500 new visas overall. While a smaller cohort, Pakistani students were also issued 51% more American F-1 visas in 2024 than in 2023, rising from 3,300 to 5,000 visas.
United States
While the US is renowned for hosting more international students than anywhere else,8 many of its residents are interested in studying abroad, too:
Since 2021, the number of Americans studying in the UK has ticked up slowly, surpassing 15,000 in 2024. In that same year, they received the fifth-highest number of main applicant student visas for the UK.
Meanwhile, after Australia opened fully to international students in 2022, the number of Americans who received Australian student visas climbed by 377% year-over-year. This nudged upward again in 2023 and 2024, climbing 32% in 2024 year-over-year.
Looking ahead to the next few years, we expect that the population of American students studying in other countries will continue to climb. In late 2024 and early 2025, multiple reports stated that American students interest in study abroad has increased,9 representing a real opportunity for institutions in other Anglophone study destinations to attract these prospective students.10
Nepal
Another emerging market to keep an eye on is Nepal. While the number of Canadian and Australian student visas Nepalese students were granted dropped in 2024, their numbers continued to grow in the US and the UK:
Despite this uneven growth in in 2024 compared to 2023, the number of Nepalese students who received student visas for one of the Big Four destinations climbed across the board when contrasting 2021 to 2024. This reinforces that Nepalese student interest in international study remains high. As a population, they’re interested in a wide variety of destinations, but also cost-sensitive, as SoftEd Group’s Executive Chairman Bigyan Shrestha shared with The PIE earlier this spring:
“After the pandemic in 2022, the study abroad market grew exponentially in countries like Australia, UK, USA and Canada 鈥� while the next few years will be consistent [for these countries,] students are now looking at alternative destinations where the visa processing and approvals are much easier and affordable.”11
With a high outbound mobility ratio of 20.6% in 2022, Nepalese nationals are more likely than most to study internationally.12 (By comparison, India’s outbound mobility in 2022 was 0.9%.) These factors make Nepalese students a population to watch鈥攁nd connect with鈥攊n 2025 and beyond.
As a young, quickly growing country, Nepal has the potential to alter the world’s international student landscape in the years to come.
Key Takeaways
For institutions across Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States, understanding how student visa trends are changing across top Anglophone destinations helps better inform recruitment decisions and strategies. By keeping on top of international students trends, your institution can adapt to shifting landscapes and attract tomorrow’s leaders and innovators.
Student mobility data from 2024 revealed how dynamic student populations can be: despite years of growth, student flows from can reverse over the course of a single year. This variability underlines the importance of attracting a truly diverse student community to your campus (as an institution) or country (as a government). Through engaging with students from a variety of populations, you can better insulate your institution from a sea change affecting any one population. And for recruitment partners, understanding the latest trends across all destination markets is critical to ensuring your students find the right opportunity for their education and career goals.
To achieve diverse recruitment success, this may mean customizing recruitment strategies to fit different student profiles, building unique student experiences, or extending that attention to ensure students from different backgrounds can thrive on campus. Collectively, these investments can help your team attract and retain the brightest minds amidst a shifting educational landscape.
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FOOTNOTES:
1. The “Big Four” consists of Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
2. Data is sourced from the , , the , and the , unless otherwise indicated.
3. By comparison, only two student populations in Canada’s top 20 list by study permit approvals grew in 2024. Eight student populations received more new student visas year-over-year in the UK in 2024, compared to seven over the same period in Australia.
4. Worldometer, “.” Accessed May 2025.
5. Chijioke Ohuocha, Reuters. “?” October 27, 2023.
6. Sophie Hogan, The PIE. “.” June 28, 2024.
7. Wise, “.” Accessed May 2025.
8. IIE, “.” November 18, 2024.
9. Meg Little Reilly, Forbes, “.” November 25, 2024.
10. The Guardian, “.” April 15, 2025.
11. Abhishek Nair, The PIE. “.” March 13, 2025.
12. UNESCO, “.” 2022 data is the most recent complete data available.
