Market Intelligence Brief - Hong Kong 2019-20

As one of the original four ‘Asian Tigers’, Hong Kong ranks amongst the most powerful economies in East Asia. The local education market is extremely competitive and personal investment in education is high. Despite having a small population of only seven million, Hong Kong is the sixth largest source of UK university enrolments from in or outside of the EU, behind China, India, the US, Germany and France. The student age population is also currently shrinking, but this will improve slightly as the demographic decline in secondary school-aged children eases off as predicted and begins to recover. The student age population may be small, but demand for public places remains much higher than supply and this ultimately leads many students to study abroad. The Hong Kong government plans to improve STEM education, focusing particularly on innovation and technology. Investment is seen as critical for boosting Hong Kong’s performance in the technology sector, and its success in a quickly modernising world. Transnational education is highly developed in Hong Kong, with UK education and training provision accounting for about 78 per cent of the whole market.