New Zealand’s universities accommodated record numbers of foreign students last year, as the country’s international education industry continued its pivot towards higher levels of study, statistics show.

The eight universities shared a combined 38,000 overseas enrolments in 2025, 14 per cent more than in 2024 and 12 per cent more than in the pre-pandemic peak year of 2019.

Universities’ share of foreign students has risen substantially, with the sector claiming 41 per cent of international enrolments in 2025 – up from 29 per cent in 2019 and 21 per cent in 2016.

The , compiled by Education New Zealand (ENZ), show that higher education has rebounded from Covid-19 more strongly than other educational sectors, most of which have not yet recovered their 2019 numbers.

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The other exception is the private training establishment (PTE) sector, where about 14,300 foreign students were enrolled last year, compared with 13,700 in 2019. However, PTE enrolments remain well below their peak of about 43,000 in the middle of last decade, before the New Zealand Qualifications Authority cracked down on poor-quality colleges.

Policy settings for international education have reoriented towards quality as the industry recovered from some of the most sustained Covid border closures in the world. A 2022 strategy released by the former Labour government focused on “high-value” educational offerings, while the “ – launched last July by the current coalition government – articulated an ambition to double education exports to NZ$7.2 billion (£2.8 billion) by 2034.

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It also included a target for 22 per cent of would-be international students to rate New Zealand among their top three choices of study destination by 2034 – a goal the country achieved last year, according to ENZ’s latest “brand track” survey. IDP’s Emerging Futures study similarly found that New Zealand was in the “consideration set” of 21 per cent of international students.

ENZ’s acting chief executive, Linda Sissons, said the “steady” progress in Kiwi education exports had been enabled by promotional activity and driven by the “sustained effort” of education providers. “In a highly competitive global market, New Zealand’s high-quality education providers, great student experience and strong graduate outcomes are the factors that most influence student choice,” she said.

Almost half – 47 per cent – of the foreigners enrolled at New Zealand universities last year were from China, with 12 per cent from India and 6 per cent from the US. Vietnam and Sri Lanka each contributed about 3 per cent of overseas university enrolments.

Fifty per cent of international university enrolments were in Auckland, with Christchurch and Hamilton hosting about 10 per cent each and another 9 per cent in Wellington.

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john.ross@timeshighereducation.com