International students boost Cardiff’s economy by £151m
INTERNATIONAL students are worth more than £151m to Cardiff’s economy, with the city ranked among the UK’s top 20 for their economic impact.
The city’s Cardiff Central constituency is listed 13th in the UK and first in Wales for their net economic contribution.
The Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) survey looked at the costs, benefits and impact of international students in the top 20 parliamentary constituencies in the UK in terms of net impact in 2015-16.
The new study shows the benefits of international students are 10 times greater than the costs – and are worth £310 per UK resident.
Unlike earlier research, the study provides a detailed analysis of the costs as well as the benefits to the UK which welcomes 231,000 new international students each year.
For Cardiff Central it shows the costs of international students are £23.7m while the benefits are £175m.
Across the UK the gross benefits – including tuition fees, other spending and economic knock-on effects – of international students amount to £22.6bn. These gross benefits are, on average, £87,000 for each EU student and £102,000 for each non-EU student.
The public costs of hosting international students – including education, health and social security – totals £2.3bn with these public costs calculated, on average, as £19,000 for each EU student and £7,000 for each nonEU student.
The net impact (benefits minus costs) of hosting international students totals £20.3bn or an average of £68,000 for each EU student and £95,000 for each non-EU student.
Nick Hillman, HEPI director, said: “International students bring economic benefits to the UK that are worth 10 times the costs of hosting them. Trying to persuade the Home Office that international students nearly always benefit the UK can feel like banging one’s head against a brick wall.
“In the past, they have not accepted figures on the benefits on the grounds that they ignore the costs. Our work, in contrast, includes all the potential costs and conclusively proves these are small compared to the huge benefits.”
Cardiff University has nearly 6,000 international students.
Vice chancellor Professor Colin Riordan said international students and staff are vital for his institution to be the modern, competitive global institution it is.
The university this week launched its new five-year strategy which includes plans to increase numbers of both international students and staff.
A spokesman for the university said: “Cardiff University is an international community that values students that come to study here from around the world. We are proud to have almost 6,000 EU and international students from more than 100 different countries.
“This diversity benefits us socially and culturally, fosters creativity and innovation, and contributes enormously to making us a dynamic and vibrant university.
“Today’s HEPI report echoes our own findings. A report, also by London Economics, on Cardiff University’s economic impact showed that our 2014-15 cohort of non-UK students contributed more than £217m to the UK economy and supported more than 2,000 jobs in Wales.”
A University of South Wales (USW) spokesman said: “International students make a major contribution to our economy and to the vibrant academic community of many nations and backgrounds at USW.”
Cardiff Metropolitan University has more than 1,200 international students from more than 143 countries and topped a UK poll for the quality of its international student support for the sixth time in 2016.