China continues to be New Zealand's largest source of foreign students

WELLINGTON, June 7 (Xinhua) -- China continues to be New Zealand's largest source of foreign students, as its international education industry grew 6 percent to 131,609 student enrolments last year, according to the International Education Dashboard released by the government on Wednesday.

The dashboard showed an overall increase of 7,245 international student enrolments from a broader range of countries, and that a majority of regions in New Zealand experienced growth.

China led the growth with 4,429 more students in 2016, growing by 13 percent to a total of 38,046 students in New Zealand, according to the dashboard.

Half of international students in New Zealand came from China and India last year, same with that in 2015, the dashboard said.

"China is expected to continue to grow, as some providers have reportedly shifted recruitment focus from India to China," it said.

There were 27,640 international students studying at New Zealand universities in 2016, up 6 percent, with an increase in post-graduate enrolments. Among them, China showed steady year-on-year growth, up 9 percent to 11,846 students, according to the dashboard.

There were 2,912 students in New Zealand's primary and intermediate schools in 2016, up 16 percent on 2015. Among them, 1,292 students, including 1,055 primary students, came from China, increasing by 71 percent and making up 44 percent of the market, it said.

The Indian market saw a 3-percent decline in student enrolments, bringing the number of Indian students in New Zealand to 28,154, "as it undergoes a rebalancing from volume to value," the dashboard said.

Tertiary Education, Skill and Employment Minister Paul Goldsmith said in a release that the new figure consolidates international education's place as New Zealand's fourth largest export sector, supporting more than 33,000 jobs across New Zealand.

"As a small nation that relies on trade, international education offers significant value to New Zealand's society and economy. It provides jobs and incomes for thousands of New Zealand households," Goldsmith said.