Students in higher education: September 2021 to August 2022

Main points

Welsh students enrolled in UK higher education providers (HEPs)

• There were 110,360 students from Wales enrolled in UK HEPs in 2021/22, a similar level to 2020/21 (110,380).
• There were 87,270 undergraduate students from Wales in 2021/22, a similar level to 2020/21 (87,525).
• There was a 1% rise in the number of postgraduate students from Wales; from 22,855 in 2020/21 to 23,090 in 2021/22.
• In 2021/22 there were 59% more enrollments from women than men.
• The number of full-time, undergraduate enrolments from the most deprived areas in Wales (WIMD 2019 Quintile 1) decreased by nearly 1%, from 10,200 enrolments in 2020/21 to 10,120 enrolments in 2021/22.
• The number of full-time, undergraduate enrolments from the least deprived areas in Wales (WIMD 2019 Quintile 5) remained at a similar level to 2020/21 (from 15,735 enrolments in 2020/21 to 15,705 enrolments in 2021/22).
• Students from the most deprived (WIMD 2019 Quintile 1) areas continue to account for 16% of full-time, undergraduate enrolments.

Enrolments in Welsh higher education providers

• Enrolments at Welsh HEPs increased by 3%; from 145,170 in 2020/21 to 149,045 in 2021/22.
• The number of full-time undergraduates decreased by 1%; from 84,890 in 2020/21 to 83,970 in 2021/22.   
• The number of part-time undergraduate students increased by 1%; from 26,205 in 2020/21 to 26,415 in 2021/22.
• The number of postgraduate students increased by 13%; from 34,075 in 2020/21 to 38,660 in 2021/22.  
• 38% of postgraduates studied part-time, compared to 24% of undergraduates.
• Half of the students at Welsh HEPs came from Wales before they began study.
• The most popular subject group at Welsh HEPs in 2021/22 was Business and management, followed by Subjects allied to medicine.

Cross border flows of full-time students

• Wales is a net importer of full-time students from the UK.
• There were 41,550 full-time students from other UK countries at Welsh HEPs, compared to 28,845 full-time students from Wales studying at HEPs in the rest of the UK.
• 39% of full-time undergraduates from Wales studied in England, and 36% of full-time postgraduates from Wales studied in England.

Higher education qualifications

• The number of qualifications awarded to students from Wales increased by 3%; from 30,710 in 2020/21 to 31,510 in 2021/22.
• The majority (69%) of qualifications awarded to students from Wales were undergraduate qualifications.
• The number of qualifications awarded by HEPs in Wales increased by 4%; from 43,390 in 2020/21 to 45,120 in 2021/22.

Higher education at further education institutions (FEIs) in Wales

• The number of students on higher education courses at FEIs in Wales decreased by 13%; from 1,305 in 2020/21 to 1,140 in 2021/22.

Further information

These statistics combine data from both the HESA student record and the HESA student alternative record so numbers may differ slightly from those previously published. The detailed dataset on StatsWales will be updated to include these new data as soon as possible.