International student monthly summary

Key points

• In the YTD August 2025, 804,555 international students studied in Australia, a 0.4% increase on the same period in 2024. The number of new students, studying in Australia for the first time in 2025 (164,873) declined by 17% on the same period in 2024.
• Many international students study more than one course in a reported year. Hence, in the YTD August 2025 there were 955,317 international student enrolments, a 1% decline in enrolments on the same period in 2024. The number of commencements (376,856) declined by 14%.
• The Higher Education sector still had growth in enrolments on the same period in 2024 (10%), followed by Schools (5%), while all other sectors showed declines, notably ELICOS (38%).
• Fifty-seven per cent of international students were from the following 5 student source countries: China (23% of international students), India (17%), Nepal (8%), Vietnam (4%) and the Philippines (4%).
• The most popular Field of Education in Higher Education was Management and Commerce followed by Information Technology, while in VET it was Management and Commerce followed by Food, Hospitality and Personal Services.
• In YTD August 2025, the most popular Level of Study in Higher Education was Masters degree by coursework (48% of total) followed by Bachelors degree (37%), while in VET it was Diploma (37%) followed by Certificate IV (20%).