International students in New Zealand

Statistics in this section include the numbers of international students studying in New Zealand, international students’ progression through the New Zealand education system, their academic achievement, support provided for international students and international students’ experiences in New Zealand, their employment outcomes, and ongoing links to New Zealand as alumni.

Last Updated: September 2021

Export Education Levy Statistics

Statistics relating to the Export Education Levy, collected from the export education industry. Export education relates to the provision of education to full fee-paying international students who come to New Zealand to study in both the schooling and tertiary sectors. The Export Education Levy Key Statistics contain a number of time series, starting from 2003 when the Levy was first collected, and include the number of international student enrolments, by type of provider, by region where they are studying, by country of citizenship.

The Education and Training Act 2020 suspended the EEL payment obligation for international education providers for all enrolments for the 2020 and 2021 calendar years. Consultation is underway as at September 2021 to suspend the levy for 2022 as well.

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Export Education Levy Annual Report

Historic Export Education Levy Annual Reports

International student satisfaction in NZ

Education New Zealand undertakes an annual survey to understand international students' experience studying and living in New Zealand. The most recent report available is for 2019. (Any questions can be directed by email to info@enz.govt.nz)


In the past, international students in New Zealand were surveyed by the International Graduate Insight Group (i-graduate). Students in universities and institutes of technology/polytechnics were surveyed in 2011, and due to the effects of the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake, students in private training establishments, English language providers and secondary schools were surveyed one year later in 2012.

These surveys were preceded by national surveys of international students carried out in 2003 and 2007. Due to methodological differences between the surveys, data from 2011/12 cannot be directly compared with data from 2007 and 2003.