Covid-19 impacts on international student mobility – Latin America

A survey on overseas study plans in the context of the Covid-19 epidemic was distributed through British Council and agent channels across different countries and regions in May - June 2020. Latin America had 4,772 respondents: 2,526 in Brazil, 882 in Colombia, 1,118 in Mexico, and 246 in Peru. Please find attached a slide show with the key takeaways from the survey responses. We are currently distributing another version of the survey asking students about their overseas study plans this year and how they might be changing during August, and we will be able to share the results of that survey towards the end of the month.

Some key takeaways included:

-Latin American respondents were more likely than most other regions to say they would cancel their overseas study plans. Almost a third had already cancelled or delayed their plans or were very likely to do so. Around 15 per cent said they were not at all likely to cancel or delay, while around half did not have a strong position either way.

-In contrast to many other parts of the world (particularly East Asia), UK applicants’ main concern in each Latin American country is not health but finance. 90 per cent of applicants from the region are at least somewhat concerned about this issue, vs 71 per cent who said the same about health and wellbeing.

-Respondents were asked what they would prefer to do if unable to start their overseas course in September. Only around a third of UK applicants from Latin America would prefer to start online – with this being more popular among undergraduates (38 per cent) than postgraduates (30 per cent). Almost two thirds of all applicants said they would prefer to delay their course start.