Market Intelligence Brief - Hong Kong 2023

Located on the southeast coast of China and known for its large financial sector and favourable business environment, Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region of China. The territory is home to a highly developed and high performing domestic education system which traditionally scores very well in international rankings. But despite the quality of its domestic education system, a relatively large number of Hong Kong students pursue international study each year, primarily due to insufficient domestic capacity. The UK has historically been the most popular overseas study destination with international students from Hong Kong reflecting faith in the British higher education system and the cultural legacy of British rule.

Looking specifically at the UK’s recruitment of international HE students from Hong Kong, student numbers reached a new peak of almost 18,400 in the 2021/22 academic year, after three years of decline in line with a broader fall in total outbound international students from Hong Kong. The strong uptick in 2021/22 is likely to have been influenced by the introduction of the Graduate Route in summer 2021, as well as the newly introduced British National (Overseas) BN(O) visa route for Hong Kong, which allows BN(O) status holders and certain family members to live, work and study in the UK.

In addition to being a major source of mobile students Hong Kong also has a large, mature TNE market, driven by a strong regulatory framework for TNE and clear government policy in this area. According to HESA, there were 22,480 Hong Kong students enrolled on UK TNE and distance learning courses in the 2020/21 academic year, making it the UK’s sixth largest TNE market globally at present. The UK is the leading provider to TNE in Hong Kong by some distance, with most TNE courses offered at the bachelor's degree level.

Another key area of cooperation between the UK and Hong Kong higher education sectors is in the area of research collaboration. Key stakeholders in the Hong Kong HE sector regard the UK as an important strategic partner and are keen to re-energise partnerships and collaborations which may have suffered during the pandemic. However, the National Security Law implemented in Hong Kong in June 2020 has had a significant impact upon universities in the city, both directly and indirectly as significant numbers of staff and international faculty at all education levels within Hong Kong have left the territory.

This 27-page report gives an overview of Kong's education system and the wider demographic, economic and political context, with a focus on international education trends in the country - including both student mobility and transnational education. It aims to provide useful information to UK education institutions and other UK stakeholders considering partnerships with counterparts in Hong Kong and to support further cooperation and engagement between the UK and Hong Kong.