Sheffield’s Int’l Students Contribute £273M to Economy, Third Highest in UK

A newly published report has revealed that Sheffield ranks third in terms of international students' economic impact to the United Kingdom’s economy.

The report published by Universities UK, the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI), and Kaplan International Pathways in partnership with London Economics, shows that the total net economic impact from the cohort of international students in Sheffield Central amounted to £273 million in 2021/22.

The impact positions Sheffield Central in the third spot among UK constituencies, behind Glasgow Central and Holborn and St Pancras, Erudera.com reports.

In addition to Sheffield, the Yorkshire and Humber region also recorded the third-highest average impact in the UK, amounting to £54 million.

Data further show a substantial growth in international student contribution to the UK’s economy, up from £31.3 billion in the 2018/19 academic year to a significant amount of £41.9 billion, which is an approximately 34 percent rise within the period.

EU students made a net economic impact of £125,000, while the figure for non-EU students was £96,000. Overall, the contribution of international students to the UK has dramatically increased between 2015 and 2021/22, from £23.6 billion to £37.4 billion (net), which is a 58 percent increase.

Sheffield Central MP and Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on International Students, Paul Blomfield, said that the benefits of having international students studying in Sheffield are evident. Besides their important economic contribution, Blomfield said that international students bring immense value to communities.

“Not only do they help to create jobs and support Sheffield’s shops, businesses and restaurants, they enhance the education and experiences of all students, contribute to vital research and add to the cultural vibrancy of our city.”

During the 2021/22 academic year, UK universities became home to 381,000 first-year international students, distributed in different locations across the UK, most in London (98,825). Others settled in:

• 31,360 in Yorkshire and the Humber
• 29,750 in the West Midlands
• 27,680 in the Northwest
• 24,835 in the East of England
• 24,235 in the East Midlands
• 18,715 in the Northeast
• 9,700 in the Southwest.

“Reflecting the attractiveness of the UK as a place for undertaking higher education, the number of international students coming to the UK is at an all-time high. International students put nearly ten times more into the economy than they take out – boosting both local and national economic wellbeing,” Gavan Conlon, Partner at London Economics, said.

44,085 international first-year students enrolled in Scotland in 2021/22, nearly 15,000 in Wales, and 12,615 in Northern Ireland. Within Sheffield Central, approximately 3,000 first-year international students attended two universities in the city.

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