Forget oil, overseas students make money

1.  Britain could earn £13 billion a year from international students in higher education by 2020 in addition to the £3 billion they currently contributed to the economy, the study by the British Council and Universities UK said.

2.  A separate government-funded study calculated that education has become one of Britain’s most important export industries.

3.  Britain at present has a quarter of the market in foreign students, with 270,000 enrolled in its universities and contributing an average of £16,000 a year each in fees and living expenses to the economy.

4.  Asia would overtake Europe as Britain’s main source of foreign students, accounting for more than half of student places.

5.  The study said Britain scored well on “attractiveness factors” for foreign students because its degrees were regarded as high quality and offering good employment prospects. Students also felt it was a safe country with an attractive lifestyle.