Enrollment of International Students Drops in ‘Big Four’ English Countries, Including US and Canada

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Enrollment of new international students in the "Big Four" English-speaking destinations — the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia — continued to fall sharply in the January–March 2026 intake, with a new global survey recording double‑digit declines across key sectors.

According to the Global Enrolment Benchmark Survey: Jan‑Mar 2026 Intake by Studyportals, Canada and the US saw the steepest drops, though in different areas.

Canada recorded a 24% decline in new international undergraduates and a 19% decline in new international master's students compared with the same intake a year earlier, according to University World News.

In the US, enrolment of international master's students fell 24%, accelerating from a 19% drop reported last fall, while new international BA students declined 20%.

The UK and Australia also reported substantial falls in new international master's enrolments. The survey found a 16% drop in international master's students in Australia and a 15% decline in Britain, reversing the UK's previous modest master's‑level growth.

Britain also saw an 11% decline in new international BA students, compared to last year's small increase, while 62% of UK universities reported declines in international undergraduates and 65% reported falls at the graduate level.

Overall, 51% of universities and colleges worldwide reported declines in both undergraduate and postgraduate international enrolment, but the regional pattern was uneven.

In Canada, 69% of institutions saw drops in international undergraduates and 80% in graduates, while in the US 62% reported declines at both levels, Forbes reported.

By contrast, only a quarter of European universities reported falls in international undergraduates and 14% in graduates, and these were offset by 47% and 43% of institutions, respectively, reporting growth.

Studyportals' survey shows APAC countries, excluding Australia, moving in the opposite direction. In that region, 82% of institutions reported growth in international undergraduates and 55% reported growth in master's enrolments, with restrictive visa rules not among their top three obstacles.

Globally, university officials most often blamed "restrictive government policies" for the declines, with 84% of US and Canadian respondents, 71% in the UK, and 100% in Australia naming them as the greatest barrier to international enrolment, while affordability and cost of living were ranked as the second‑biggest obstacle in most regions, as per NAFSA.