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Latest data shows continued growth in international enrolments
The latest full-year enrolment data confirms there were 92,580 international students enrolled with New Zealand education providers in 2025. This is an increase of 11 percent from the same period in 2024 and 80 percent of the pre-COVID peak.
ENZ’s Acting Chief Executive, Dr Linda Sissons, says the results reflect steady progress across the sector driven by the sustained effort of education providers and enabled by ENZ’s brand and promotional activity.
ENZ’s recent Global Brand Health and Awareness Survey found that 22 percent of prospective students place New Zealand in their top three study destinations. This strengthening preference is consistent with the growth we are seeing in international student enrolments.
“In a highly competitive global market, New Zealand’s high-quality education providers, great student experience and strong graduate outcomes are the factors that most influence student choice,” says Dr Sissons.
Universities have seen a 14 percent increase to 38,025, significantly exceeding 2024 levels. School enrolments grew by 10 percent to 20,155.
International enrolments in our primary, intermediate and secondary schools remain a key point of difference for New Zealand, offering an early pathway into our education system.
Outside of universities and schools, recovery across subsectors has been more uneven, with institutes of technology and polytechnics progressing at different rates. This reflects varied recovery across subsectors and markets.
“We are regularly assessing priority markets so we can understand where demand is growing and can direct our effort and resources toward markets with the greatest opportunity to support sustainable growth.”
China and India remain the top two countries for international student enrolment, at 34 percent and 14 percent respectively, followed by Japan (9 percent), South Korea (4 percent), Sri Lanka (4 percent), Germany (3 percent), the United States of America (3 percent), Nepal (3 percent), and the Philippines (3 percent).
“Strong growth was seen in a small number of new markets including Sri Lanka and Nepal. These markets have been factored into our market prioritisation and investment framework for 2026/27,” says Dr Sissons.
International students are studying across all regions of New Zealand. Auckland remains the largest centre, hosting around 55 percent of international students, followed by Canterbury and Waikato.
“Canterbury (10 percent), Auckland (14 percent) and Waikato (19 percent) experienced the strongest growth,” says Dr Sissons.
“Growth across regions reflects a sector that is rebuilding at pace and contributing to our local communities and economy.”
ENZ plays a key role in supporting the sector by providing market intelligence and insights to help providers understand trends in demand and make informed decisions in an increasingly competitive global market.
A webinar for interested stakeholders is being held at 12:30pm (NZT) on 19 May where ENZ’s Director of Insights and Performance, Marie Clark, will present the numbers and provide insights into each subsector and market.
Register for the webinar: https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/db7275ad-de60-42ad-bb00-c0d46b7c2804@7fab8d82-1c85-4170-acbf-74e098fcca29.
Full enrolment data is available on ENZ’s Tableau public account as interactive dashboards and data tables.
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BizVenture winners tackle youth mental health with "It's Okay" clothing range
The innovative business entrepreneurship scheme is a pilot initiative led by Education New Zealand, Young Enterprise Scheme (YES), and Japanese partners to give students in both countries real-life experience in developing business solutions that address one of the United Nation’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
Forty students collaborated in a three-day virtual exchange, where they chose a challenge tackling some of Japan’s pressing social issues, before designing and presenting a business plan in a “Dragon’s Den” style pitch to judges.
The winning New Zealand team - Hamish Robinson (Taradale High School, Napier), Benjamin Young (Tauranga Boys’ College), Daniel Blight (Waimea College, Napier), Kaiah Sherriff (Southland Girls’ High School), and Abirami Kabilan (Pakuranga College, Auckland) - chose to come up with a strategy which would directly enhance the mental wellbeing of Japanese teenagers.
The UN SDGs are some of the biggest problems facing humanity today, so working on them was a pretty full-on task” – Pakuranga College student Abirami Kabilan
It is a topic which directly impacts young people in both countries, as UNICEF ranks Japan 37th among 41 OECD countries for the state of children’s mental health, and New Zealand one lower, at 38th place.
Insights into business and culture “eye-opening”
To succeed, the students had to gain a thorough insight into Japanese culture, youth behaviour, and business practice. Ahead of their pitches, the teams joined interactive workshops with New Zealand and Japanese guest speakers, cultural mentors, and language coaches.
Abirami Kabilan describes the exposure to Japanese business and societal culture as “eye-opening”.
“The UN SDGs are some of the biggest problems facing humanity today, so working on them was a pretty full-on task.”
“One of the most interesting things about this cross-cultural experience was seeing how the Japanese students approached the same problems. Young people around the world will have such different ways of approaching these problems too. Imagine the ideas we would come up with if we all worked together.”
The winning team successfully pitched a clothing brand called 大丈夫, which translates in English to “It’s Okay”, to get the conversation about mental health out in the open among Japanese youth, and hopefully gain the support of high-reach Japanese influencers to help push their critical wellbeing message.
They decided the best way to break into the Japanese market would be with “in your face” messaging using symbols of strength, such as dragons and samurai, to promote their message.
“This is something that has not been done in Japan before and we’re ecstatic to be winners,” Hamish Robinson says.
BizVenture promotes global competency
The BizVenture programme will allow students to understand the Japanese business context and increase their global competency, says Young Enterprise Scheme lead Elizabeth Pittman.
“New Zealand youth have such a strong interest in sustainability and improving social outcomes within their communities and abroad, and this challenge allows them to explore that interest in a business context.”
International education adapts to changing needs of learners
Education New Zealand is keen to build on the success of this year’s pilot BizVenture programme as international education adapts to meet the changing needs of learners. International research shows that students are increasingly seeking programmes and content that is relevant to real world problems and which will allow them to make a real difference.
The programme also builds on New Zealand’s diplomatic relationship with Japan while travel for international students remains limited.
“Over many decades Japan and New Zealand have benefitted from an enduring partnership,” says Hamish Cooper, New Zealand Ambassador to Japan. “Education has played a really important role in fostering people-to-people ties, and supporting the development of what are now, in 2021, very close connections between our two countries.”
“Before the pandemic, more than 10,000 students from Japan studied in New Zealand every year, making an important economic contribution, but also enriching our schools and communities, and helping New Zealand students become more globally connected.”
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Caroline plays her part in Christchurch rebuild
But she is now a qualified quantity surveyor as comfortable working on building sites as she is back in the office crunching the numbers.
Caroline says it is not a profession she would have contemplated in China, where she grew up, but Christchurch’s rebuild inspired her to pursue a career in the construction industry and she is grateful for the freedom to be able to achieve her ambitions.
“It has been very rewarding to be part of the rebuild and to see the changes in the city. Bettabuilt, the company I work for, specialises in school rebuilds. When we finish a new school, you feel like you’ve done something you should be really proud of.”
And her parents are proud too. They have backed her career choice and know that the bold decision they made to send their only child to New Zealand for education was the right one.
New Zealand a safe place to study
Caroline says they had travelled widely as a family before making the decision that she would come to Burnside High School Te Kura o Waimairi-iri in Year 11. “They wanted me to be open-minded and take on new experiences and cultures,” she says. “They decided it would be good for me to study in another country with a different culture and chose New Zealand because it was a peaceful and safe country.”
Before she arrived, Caroline was set up with a “buddy”, a student from her school in Beijing who was already studying here and helped provide insights into life in New Zealand. She also took an online course prepared for international students.
“This made me feel more confident and familiar with what I was coming to which was important, because the culture and environment is quite different from my home country.”
But there were still some big adjustments to be made when it came to schooling. “All courses in China are set by the Education Department. In New Zealand, you have freedom to choose your own courses,” she says. “At first, I was a bit overwhelmed by the options available to me because I didn’t know exactly what I should take. But it was good that I had the opportunity to try courses that I was interested in.”
She also had to get used to a self-directed approach to learning. “It allows you to study in a way which suits you best, which was positive for me. And it means when you start work you have the ability and discipline to study by yourself. I have used methods I learned in high school and university to build my knowledge in the workplace.”
With more free time in her life, Caroline had the opportunity to play sport and even take on a part-time job which she says would not have been possible in Beijing. “That job really helped me because I got to practice English and gain more confidence talking to local people.”
New career opportunities
It was all part of an international education experience which Caroline believes is about much more than study.
“When you’re an international student, you quickly acquire life skills and become much more independent.
You also learn about other cultures because you are mixing with people from many different backgrounds. It was quite an eye-opener for me, but I enjoyed it.”
Once she determined her career choice, Caroline chose Ara Institute of Canterbury as the next step on her education pathway. Starting with a Diploma in Quantity Surveying, she followed it up with a Bachelor of Construction. Job and internship opportunities were regularly shared by their programme leader, illustrating the close ties with business.
The decision to study in New Zealand has taken Caroline on a journey she couldn’t have imagined when she arrived. “In China I would not be working in construction. I would probably have been working in finance or management,” she says. “The environment here changed me and gave me career options I would not have considered at home.”
In the past few months Caroline has secured residency and bought her first house, giving her a real sense of belonging. “I enjoy my work and my life in New Zealand. I love Christchurch and I’m proud to be contributing to the rebuild of the city.”
“I feel really happy that I came here.”
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