English language students’ spending still rising

Expenditure by international students studying at English language schools was $242 million in the year ended March 2008, Statistics NZ has released. This expenditure was $7 million higher than for the year ended March 2007.

According to the English Language Providers (ELP) survey, there were 39,668 international students enrolled in English language schools in NZ in the year ended March 2008 – an increase of 1,940 (5.1 per cent) from the previous year.

The Republic of Korea (South Korea) surpassed China as the largest contributor to expenditure on tuition and related fees for both the March 2007 and March 2008 years. Expenditure by South Korean students increased $8.6 million (47.5 per cent) since March 2006, while expenditure by Chinese students decreased $10.8 million (31.3 per cent).

The estimated total value of expenditure by all international students studying in NZ was $1,514 million for the year ended March 2008, down $36 million from the previous year.

Total expenditure by all international students includes the expenditure by students measured by the ELP, as well as the expenditure of students enrolled at primary and secondary schools and tertiary institutions.