Survey of English Language Providers: Year ended March 2008

Overview

This Hot Off the Press provides detail on spending by international students in New Zealand. This spending forms part of the exports of travel services component in the Balance of Payments and also the expenditure measure of Gross Domestic Product.

Travel exports (spending by visitors to New Zealand) were valued at $7,299 million for the year ended March 2008 and accounted for 14.2 percent of total exports of goods and services. Estimated spending by international students contributed $1,514 million, or 20.7 percent of travel exports. Spending by international students is made up of expenditure by international students studying at primary and secondary schools, and for formal tertiary qualifications, as well as students studying at English language schools.

Total expenditure by international students

The estimated total value of expenditure by all international students studying in New Zealand was $1,514 million for the year ended March 2008, compared with a revised figure of $1,550 million for the year ended March 2007. These figures will be further revised in the June 2008 quarter release of the Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Statistics, to be published 19 September 2008 (see the 'Data sources' section for further details). Estimated expenditure by international students studying at primary and secondary schools, and for formal tertiary qualifications, decreased between the March 2007 and March 2008 years due to fewer students studying at these institutions in New Zealand. According to the English Language Providers (ELP) survey, expenditure by students studying at English language schools increased $7 million in the March 2008 year. This release focuses on the data gathered from the ELP survey.

Results from the English Language Providers survey

During the March 2008 year there were 39,668 international students enrolled in English language schools in New Zealand, which earned schools $121 million in tuition and related fees. The number of English language students increased 5.1 percent from the March 2007 year to the March 2008 year. This followed a 6.1 percent increase in student numbers between the March 2006 and March 2007 years. In the March 2008 year, income from tuition and related fees increased $3.7 million (3.2 percent) compared with the March 2007 year. The largest increase in tuition revenue was from Saudi Arabian students, whose expenditure increased $3.9 million (up 68.8 percent). Expenditure on tuition and related fees by Saudi Arabian students has increased every year since March 2003. Total student weeks increased 4.1 percent in the March 2008 year but the average length of study per student is at a similar level to the previous year.

Expenditure by international students at English language schools

Total expenditure by international students studying at English language schools is calculated using expenditure on tuition and accommodation sourced from the ELP survey. Also included in the calculation is an estimate for other expenditure, such as living costs, which is derived from ELP figures. The total estimate for expenditure by international students studying at English language schools was $242 million in the March 2008 year, an increase of $7 million from the March 2007 year. Revenue from tuition and related fees increased 3.2 percent in the March 2008 year, while revenue from accommodation provision increased 3.8 percent.

English language provider tuition revenue

Revenue from English language tuition was $121 million for the March 2008 year, up from $117 million for the revised March 2007 year. This 3.2 percent increase is the second consecutive yearly increase but revenue is still 53.1 percent lower than the peak of $258 million in the March 2003 year. The largest increase in tuition expenditure between the March 2007 year and the March 2008 year was by students from Saudi Arabia, whose expenditure increased $3.9 million (68.8 percent). Saudi Arabian students made the fourth-largest contribution to English language tuition expenditure. Both the number of students from Saudi Arabia and their average length of study increased from the March 2007 year.

The other significant contributor to the rise in tuition revenue was students from the Republic of Korea (South Korea), whose expenditure increased $1.7 million (6.7 percent). This followed a $6.9 million (38.2 percent) rise in the March 2007 year. Tuition and related fees revenue from the Republic of Korea surpassed that of the People's Republic of China and is now the highest for all countries for both the revised March 2007 and March 2008 years. Tuition revenue from China increased 1.6 percent in the March 2008 year after falling every year since March 2003. Partly offsetting the rise in total tuition revenue in the March 2008 year was a $3.9 million (17.4 percent) decrease in revenue from Japan.

Student numbers

The number of international students enrolled in English language courses in New Zealand during the March 2008 year was 39,668, up 5.1 percent from the previous year. This followed a 6.1 percent rise in student numbers between the March 2006 and revised March 2007 year. Countries from which there were significant increases in student numbers this year included South Korea, up 1,141 (16.2 percent) and Saudi Arabia, up 665 (35.0 percent). The number of Saudi Arabian students increased by 2,247 (708.8 percent) compared with the year ended March 2004. Partly offsetting the rise in student numbers was a fall in the number of Japanese students of 450 (4.6 percent). This fall is consistent with the drop in total short-term visitor numbers from Japan over this period.

For the March 2008 year, tuition revenue per student has fallen 27.4 percent compared with the March 2004 year. Over this period tuition revenue per Chinese student has fallen 16.7 percent. However, Chinese students were still, on average, the biggest spenders in terms of tuition and related fees in the March 2008 year, with Chinese students accounting for 11.8 percent of student numbers but 19.5 percent of tuition revenue.

Student weeks

Total weeks studied by all students increased 4.1 percent from the March 2007 year to the March 2008 year. Students from the Republic of Korea and Saudi Arabia recorded the largest increases in the number of weeks studied, up 10,340 (12.7 percent) and 9,918 (53.4 percent), respectively. The largest decrease in weeks studied was by students from Japan, partly due to the fall in student numbers from that country. The average length of study of English language courses for the March 2008 year was 10 weeks. This length of study is similar to the average for the previous year. On average, Chinese students are studying for the longest period of time (17.5 weeks) and Japanese students are studying for the shortest period of time (6.1 weeks).

English language provider accommodation provision

Accommodation revenue collected in the ELP survey only includes revenue for accommodation provided or arranged by English language schools. For the year ended March 2008, English language provider accommodation revenue was $33 million, an increase of $1.2 million (3.8 percent) from the previous year. The largest increase in accommodation expenditure over the March 2008 year was by students from China, up $0.7 million (15.8 percent). Other increases in accommodation revenue were recorded for Saudi Arabia, up 0.6 million (27.0 percent) and Brazil, up 0.5 million (33.6 percent). Accommodation revenue received from Saudi Arabian students has increased 2.0 million (191.3 percent) since the March 2006 year. Partly offsetting the rise in accommodation revenue in the March 2008 year was a fall in accommodation revenue received from Japanese students of $0.5 million (7.4 percent).

Data sources

There are two main data sources used in estimating spending by international students in New Zealand:

• The survey of English Language Providers (ELP), an annual survey that collects information from English language schools on expenditure by non-resident students studying in New Zealand.
• Estimated spending by international students studying at primary and secondary schools, and in formal tertiary courses, is calculated using enrolment numbers from the Ministry of Education. Data on student enrolments at these institutions is provided using Full-time Equivalent (FTE) student numbers for the year ended 31 December 2007. This data is used as an approximation for the year ended March 2008, as it is the most recent data available.

The estimated total value of expenditure by all international students studying in New Zealand reported in this release will be revised in the June 2008 quarter release of the Balance of Payments and International Investment Position statistics.

For technical information contact:
Ross Sommerville
Wellington 04 931 4317
Email: info@stats.govt.nz

Next release...

 Survey of English Language Providers: Year ended March 2009 will be released in August 2009.

Revisions

The table below presents a summary of revisions to the March 2007 year major components, as a result of new or improved data.