University student statistics 2024

Looking for statistics about UK university students? We've pulled together data from a variety of sources to save you time with research. Bookmark this page as we'll keep it updated.

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As experts on student money, we stay up to date with the latest data related to university students in the UK, alongside conducting our own research through annual surveys. To help other journalists and researchers find key info quickly, we've combined findings from a range of sources on this page.

Each statistic below has a link to its source to help you quickly find the web pages you need. Among others, the sources include our annual student surveys, the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) and the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS).

Either use the navigation box below to jump straight to the stats you're looking for, or scroll through for an overview of the latest data on students in the UK.

Student population statistics

These are the key stats about the UK student population:

• There was a total of 2,937,155 higher education students in the UK in 2022/23, which was around 2.77% higher than in 2021/22. (HESA, 2024)
• Among all higher education students in the UK in 2022/23, 758,855 (26%) were international students. 95,505 of these students were from the EU, while 663,355 were from outside of the EU. (HESA, 2024)
• There were 2,053,520 undergraduate students in 2022/23, and 1,888,450 were on their first degree. (HESA, 2024)
• And there were 883,635 postgraduate students in 2022/23. This includes 619,795 who were on a taught master's, and 115,705 who were doing doctorate research. (HESA, 2024)
• In 2022/23, 1,668,600 higher education students were female and 1,251,815 were male. (HESA, 2024)
• Among UK-domiciled full-time undergraduate students in 2022/23, 9% were private-school educated and 91% were from state-funded schools or colleges. (HESA, 2024)
• The most commonly studied subject is business and management, which 587,165 students were studying in 2022/23. (HESA, 2024)
• The least commonly studied subject is veterinary sciences, which just 12,280 higher education students studied in 2022/23. (HESA, 2024)
• The easiest UK university to get into in 2023 was the University for the Creative Arts, which had an offer rate of 97%. (UCAS, 2024)
• The hardest UK university to get into in 2023 was the University of Oxford, with an offer rate of 19.7%. (UCAS, 2024)

Student mental health statistics

Here are some important stats related to the mental health of university students:

• In 2021/22, 131,900 students reported having a mental health condition, such as depression, anxiety or schizophrenia. (HESA, 2023)
• A survey by Student Minds found that 57% of respondents self-reported having a mental health issue in 2022. However, only 24% of those students had a diagnosis. (Student Minds, 2023)
• In our most recent National Student Money Survey, 60% of surveyed students said their mental health suffered as a result of money worries. (NSMS, 2024)
• A study by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) found that 78.3% of participants felt that counselling helped them to stay at university, at least to a limited extent. (BACP, 2023)

Student Loan statistics

This is an overview of how maintenance funding will change across the UK in 2024/25:

• For students from England, Maintenance Loans are increasing by 2.5%. (SFE)
• For students from Northern Ireland, maximum Maintenance Loans remain the same as in 2023/24. (Student Finance NI)
• For students from Scotland, financial support is increasing by £2,400 due to the new Special Support Loan. (SAAS)
• For students from Wales, maintenance support is increasing by 3.7%. (Student Finance Wales)

And here are some stats about students' experiences with Student Loans from our own research:

• Average student living costs in the latest National Student Money Survey were £1,104/month, but the average Maintenance Loan for English students was equivalent to around £600/month in 2023/24. Comparing these, this would leave a loan shortfall of £504/month. (NSMS, 2024)
• In the same survey, 58% said their Maintenance Loan was not enough to live on. (NSMS, 2024)
• 856,475 graduates made Student Loan repayments despite earning below the threshold in 2021/22. (FOI request to SLC by Save the Student, 2023)

Student drop-out rates

These are useful statistics about students dropping out of university in the UK:

• Among young entrants on their first full-time degree in 2019/20, 5.3% didn't continue beyond their first year of university. (HESA, 2022)
• 48% of students in the National Student Money Survey 2024 said they'd considered dropping out due to money-related reasons. These reasons were money worries (38%), Student Loan repayments (18%) and loan interest rates (17%). (NSMS, 2024)

Statistics about student spending

Source: National Student Money Survey 2024

Here are the main findings about student spending from the National Student Money Survey 2024:

• Surveyed students spent an average of £1,104 per month.
  • The biggest average monthly expenses were rent (£540 per month), groceries (£144 per month) and household bills (£76 per month).
• The UK region with the highest average student living costs was London (£1,264 per month), while the cheapest region for students was Northern Ireland (£926 per month).
• 67% of surveyed students said they skipped meals to save money at least some of the time (26% often and 41% sometimes).
• 9% of students in the survey had used a food bank in the previous academic year.
• Over four in five (81%) said they worry about making ends meet.

Statistics about student accommodation

Here are the key stats from the National Student Accommodation Survey 2024:

• 64% of those in the survey who paid rent struggled with the cost at least some of the time (20% described it as a constant struggle, while 44% struggled from time to time).
• Two in five have thought about dropping out due to the cost of rent.
• 72% said rental costs impacted their health, while 45% said their studies suffered due to accommodation problems.
• 7% said they have experienced homelessness.
• Over a third have had issues with damp.
• 14% don't think they will ever be able to buy a house.
• Energy bills cost an average of £86 per month for surveyed students.
• 51% were concerned about the student housing shortage.
• The most common type of accommodation for surveyed students was a privately rented home (39%), followed by university accommodation (24%), private halls (16%), their family home (15%) and their own property (3%). 3% answered 'other' for their accommodation type.

Statistics about student banking

This is an overview of the findings from the Student Banking Survey 2024:

• Santander was the most common choice of student bank account.
• Among surveyed students who had overdrafts, 29% had hit their limit at some point.
• 12% had credit card debt.
• Around three in 10 shopped with buy now, pay later (BNPL) sites (5% said they used them often and 26% said they sometimes did).
• 26% had a Lifetime ISA (LISA).

University rankings

Top 10 UK universities

Here are the top 10 UK universities for 2025 according to the Complete University Guide (CUG):

1. University of Cambridge
2. University of Oxford
3. London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
4. University of St Andrews
5. Imperial College London
6. Loughborough University
7. Durham University
8. University of Bath
9. University College London (UCL)
10. University of Warwick

10. Lancaster University.

For interesting facts about each uni, including famous alumni, see our guide to the best UK universities.

Most sustainable UK universities

These are the most sustainable universities in the UK in 2023/24 according to People & Planet:

1. University of Reading
2. Manchester Metropolitan University
3. University of Bedfordshire
4. University of the Arts, London
5. King's College London
6. Cardiff Metropolitan University
7. De Montfort University
8. Swansea University
9. University of Worcester
10. Bournemouth University.

We also list the least sustainable universities in our guide to the university sustainability rankings.

For more student statistics, see the full report for the National Student Money Survey 2024.