International Student Enrolments in New Zealand 2002 – 2008

International enrolments by origin

The information on enrolments can be disaggregated by the reported origins of the students, as shown in Table 2 and Chart 2.  The overall size of the sector in 2002 was clearly driven by enrolments of students from the People’s Republic of China (‘China’), with 53,340 enrolments.  Since the peak in 2002 there has been a 61% decline in Chinese enrolments, to 20,579 in 2008.

There has also been a marked change over time in enrolments of students from South Korea, which declined from 19,881 in 2002 to 13,275 in 2005.  Since the decline recorded from 2002 to 2005 there has been a recovery in enrolments from South Korea, rising to 17,189 in 2008.

Table 2: International enrolments by origin

* including the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
China	53,340	53,175	46,800	35,482	32,612*	24,754*	20,579*
South Korea	19,881	17,300	15,814	13,275	16,327	17,904	17,189
Japan	17,844	15,532	14,917	12,847	14,455	12,236	10,676
Europe	6,546	6,988	7,973	7,923	7,310	9,465	9,735
North America	1,652	2,247	2,833	3,113	2,734	2,730	2,651
Latin America	1,769	1,535	1,794	2,087	3,144	3,559	3,767
All other economies	25,887	20,844	20,686	19,519	18,714	20,653	23,960
Totals	126,919	117,621	110,817	94,246	95,296	91,301	88,557

 

The reasons for the initial rapid growth in enrolments from China include New Zealand’s relatively open immigration system at the time, compared to the other main English-speaking education destination countries; a heightened interest by Chinese students in gaining Western tertiary qualifications; and perceptions of New Zealand as being a relatively safe and low-cost country in which to study, due partly to the lower value of the New Zealand dollar. 

The decline in Chinese interest since the 2002 to 2003 period has usually been ascribed to much greater competition from other countries for Chinese students (notably from Australia, the USA, Great Britain, and Canada); a greatly increased provision of tertiary education opportunities in China; and the rising value of the New Zealand dollar².

Chart 2: Enrolments of international students, by origin




The overall rise in enrolments of South Korean students since 2005 is believed to be based on a need to learn English, due to the requirements of the Korean scholastic examination system and employment within key chaebol exporting companies.

Since 2002 there has been overall growth recorded from the source regions of Europe, Latin America, and ‘all other economies’.  In particular, as outlined later in this report, from 2006 there has been a very marked growth in enrolments of students from India and Saudi Arabia.

Chart 3 states the proportions of total international enrolments by student origins.  In 2002 the ‘top three’ (China, Japan and South Korea) made up 72% of all enrolments.  This proportion reduced to 55% for 2008.

Chart 3: Proportion of total international enrolments, by origin

Footnote

2. At its lowest point in November 2000, 1 $NZ was worth 0.40 $US; by November 2004 the value of the $NZ had risen 75 percent to 0.70 $US (source: Reserve Bank of New Zealand).