Higher education in numbers

In 2024–25, there were 304 higher education providers in the UK that returned data to the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). This webpage includes data from HE providers in England registered with the Office for Students (OfS), publicly funded HE providers in Northern Ireland and Scotland and Welsh providers funded by Medr or returning HESA data on specifically designated courses, including providers beyond Universities UK membership. For further information on higher education providers visit HESA's website.

In 2024–25, there were 2,863,180 students studying at UK higher education providers. 

• Undergraduate: 2,066,630
• Postgraduate: 796,550
• Full time: 2,327,850
• Part time: 535,330
• Students from the UK: 2,174,500
• Students from the EU: 63,600
• Students from non-EU countries: 621,970

(Source: HESA Student record 2024–25) 

• In 2024–25 there were 244,755 academic staff and 407,175 total staff (excluding atypical staff) employed at UK higher education institutions. 
• Staff employed on full-time academic contracts made up 66% of staff working in higher education institutions. 
• 15% of academic staff with a known nationality had an EU nationality, while 19% had a non-EU nationality. 
• 8% of non-academic staff with a known nationality had an EU nationality, while 7% had a non-EU nationality. 

(Source: HESA staff record 2024-25)  

• The latest National Student Survey, published in 2024, found that 87% of students were satisfied with the quality of their course.  
•  87% of respondents agreed that they were happy with the teaching on their course. 
• 88% of respondents were happy with their learning resources. 
• 84% were happy with their learning opportunities. 

  (Source: 2025 National Student Survey) 

• In 2025, 23.5% of UK 18-year-olds from low participation neighbourhoods (POLAR4 quintile 1) were accepted to study a full-time undergraduate degree through UCAS, compared to 18.4% at the beginning of the time series in 2016. 
• For graduates from Free School Meals backgrounds, average earnings growth is 75% compared to 26% for non-graduates.

(Source: UUK analysis of DfE data) 

• 577,725 people were accepted through UCAS to start an undergraduate course in the  2025 cycle. 
• In 2025, 759,830 people applied through UCAS to an undergraduate course. 

(Source: UCAS 2025 End of Cycle report) 

In 2024/25, there were 2,218 active spin-outs.  

• The active spin-outs employed over 48,734 FTE people with an estimated turnover of over £11.61 billion. 
• 132 new university-owned or part-owned spin-off companies were created. 

(Source: HESA Higher Education – Business and Community Interaction (HE-BCI) survey 2023/24, HESA Higher Education Engagement in the UK and International Economy (HE-BCI) 2023/24) 

Figures for 2024/25 show that the total income for the sector was £52.1 billion. This was made up from the following sources: 

• Tuition fees and education contracts:  £28.3 billion 
• Funding body grants:  £6.0 billion 
• Research grants and contracts:  £7.6 billion 
• Investment income:  £1.2 billion 
• Donations and endowments:  £1.1 billion 
• Other income:  £9.7 billion  

Figures for 2024/25 show that the total operating expenditure by the sector was £53.1 million.  

(Source: HESA Finance Record 2024/25) 

• The survey of 2024 graduates revealed that 87.6% of respondents were in employment. 
• In 2024, the median, English domiciled graduate salary was £11,500 more than the median non-graduate salary. 

(Source: DfE Graduate labour market statistics: 2024) 

• It is estimated that more than 11 million additional graduates are needed to fill high skilled jobs in the UK between 2020 and 2035, of which 3 million is from new jobs created in the UK economy. 
• The government has indicated that of the new jobs linked to priority occupations in Industrial Strategy growth sectors (the IS-8) by 2030, more than 4 in 5 (82%) will require people with a higher education qualification. 

(Source: DfE Assessment of priority skills to 2030). 

• 73% of UK graduates credit going to university with enabling them to find the job they wanted in under a year. 

(Source: The value of going to university) 

• In 2021-22, the economic impact of the universities across the UK was £265 billion.
• This includes £70 billion generated from local spending of universities.

 ​(Source: London Economics (2024), The impact of the higher education sector on the UK economy) 

The 2022 Research Excellent Framework rated 41% of the research submitted as 'world leading' and 47% as 'internationally excellent'. 

(Source: Research Excellent Framework (REF) 2021)