The number of international students at different Russell Group unis in the UK varies so much. One uni has three times as many international students as some of the others.
About 25 per cent of students at UK universities live in other countries. Most Russell Group unis have way more international students than this in 2025. I guess these unis fancier reputations attract more students from other countries?
You’d think that the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge would have more international students than other Russell Group unis in 2025, since Oxbridge is supposed to be globally revered or whatever. But actually, Oxbridge has quite average-y numbers of international students for a Russell Group unis – 35.1 per cent at Oxford, and 31.8 per cent at Cambridge.
What’s interesting is that there is a strong correlation between Russell Group unis with fewer international students, at the unis we know are having financial troubles right now. Fees for international students at UK unis are usually two or three times higher than the fees for UK students. Many Russell Group unis blame their huge new deficits on a decrease in international student numbers since Brexit. Cardiff University, the University of Nottingham, Queen’s University Belfast, Newcastle University and the University of York all have financial black holes right now – and these have the least international students out of all the Russell Group unis.
At the other end, three universities in London actually have more international students than UK students. This makes sense, as the capital city is a much more cosmopolitan and diverse place than, say, Exeter.
This data comes from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). It refers to entrants in the 2022/2023 academic year, because that’s the most recent information available.
So, here are all the Russell Group unis ranked by the percentage of international students in 2025:
24. Cardiff University – 19.5 per cent
23. University of Nottingham – 22.6 per cent
22. Queen’s University Belfast – 22.8 per cent
=20. Newcastle University – 23.6 per cent
A truly banging pic of Newcastle
=20. University of York – 23.6 per cent
19. University of Exeter – 25.0 per cent
18. University of Birmingham – 27.8 per cent
17. University of Liverpool – 27.9 per cent
16. University of Bristol – 30.1 per cent
15. Durham University – 30.9 per cent
14. University of Cambridge – 31.8 per cent
13. University of Leeds – 33.6 per cent
12. Queen Mary University of London – 34.7 per cent
11. University of Oxford – 35.1 per cent
10. University of Sheffield – 35.9 per cent
Warwick students looking cheerful
9. University of Warwick – 37.7 per cent
8. University of Glasgow – 38.2 per cent
7. King’s College London – 39.0 per cent
6. University of Manchester – 39.5 per cent
5. University of Southampton – 40.5 per cent
4. University of Edinburgh – 42.5 per cent
3. Imperial College London – 52.7 per cent
2. University College London (UCL) – 54.3 per cent
1. London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) – 65.1 per cent
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