International student monthly summary

Key points

• In the YTD August 2026, 738,694 international students studied in Australia, an 8% decline on the same period in 2025.
• Many international students study more than one course in a reported year. Hence, in the YTD August 2026 there were 866,252 international student enrolments, a 9% decline in enrolments on the same period in 2025. The number of commencements (327,270) declined by 12%.
• The Higher Education sector had a small decline in enrolments (<1%), while all other sectors also showed declines, notably ELICOS (24%) and VET (19%).
• Overall, 56% of international students were from the following 5 student source countries: China (23% of international students), India (16%), Nepal (9%), Vietnam (4%) and Bangladesh (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 Architecture and Building.
• In the YTD August 2026, the most popular Level of Study in Higher Education was Masters degree by coursework (43% of total) followed by Bachelors degree (41%), while in VET it was Diploma (33%) followed by Certificate III (24%).