As we scan the 2025 horizon, a paradigm shift in terms of the rise of non-traditional host destinations is in the making.
Currently, the four leading English-speaking destinations – the US, the UK, Canada, and Australia – are facing increasing challenges stemming from stricter immigration policies, geopolitical tension and demographic pressures.
While English-speaking countries face policy challenges, non-traditional study destinations are rising as competitive alternatives. Japan, South Korea, and Singapore – each grappling with rapidly aging populations—are intensifying international student recruitment efforts and setting ambitious enrolment targets to counteract demographic declines.
Asian countries have been vying to become key study destinations for some time. For example, Japan had set a goal of attracting 300,000 international students by 2020 but achieved that milestone by 2019. But its current aim of hosting 400,000 international students by 2033 – as well as sending 500,000 Japanese students abroad – is a directive coming directly from the Japanese government, an indication that internationalisation has become a national priority.
The media is full of doom-and-gloom scenarios regarding Japan’s demographic decline. A Tohoku University professor recently predicted that, should Japan continue on its current trajectory, the country will have only one child age 14 and below by January 5, 2720. But in truth, shrinking youth populations are impacting developed economies globally.
An ageing demographic is dragging on economic growth in Germany, while Spain is experiencing one of the fastest ageing processes in the last decade. In response, both countries are upping their international student outreach efforts to shore up university enrolments.
Financial issues, too, will continue to surface in 2025, building upon the more than doubling of international student visa application fees in Australia and the tuition hikes in France. But what’s interesting is that Asian study destinations are approaching recruitment with more of the bottom line in mind.
After 20 years of unchanged tuition fees, a number of Japanese universities recently raised tuition rates by 20%. While the fees are still considerably lower than those charged in competitor Anglophone destinations, the increase indicates the country views international student outreach – and higher education overall – as an undertaking that needs to be financially viable.
A US university education can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, while one in a competitor country in Asia will only be a fraction of that
Undoubtedly, the re-election of Donald Trump as US president will greatly influence the course of international education in 2025. The travel bans and unwelcoming rhetoric of his first term have already heightened caution in the sector.
But while the new administration’s stance on visas and immigration may impact whether the US can continue to host over one million international students, an increased student focus on getting value from a university degree – meaning whether the credential leads to employment – has been percolating for a while.
A US university education can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, while one in a competitor country in Asia will only be a fraction of that. That tangible value proposition is what will likely underscore interest in these non-traditional host countries rather than immigration policies that can change over time.
