How much did South Australian universities earn in revenue from international students during the peak of the pandemic?

Analysis

• Universities in South Australia earned a collective $458,261,000 in revenue from fee paying international students in 2021

• This was a 9.5% reduction from the previous year ($506,562,000 in 2020).

• University of Adelaide earned the highest revenue in SA state with $253,703,000.

• While Flinders University had the lowest revenue ($88,645,000) in the state for this market segment in 2021

• University of Adelaide was individually responsible for more than half of South Australia’s international student revenue during the peak of the pandemic.

• The relative strengths of South Australia’s public universities in international student acquisition present a challenging dynamic for the future with UniSA and Adelaide seeking to merge.

• The reduction in competition is likely intended to consolidate demand between the two to present a stronger challenger to the east coast super winners, but may ultimately most impact Flinders University’s market share and revenues.

Notes

• Revenue data is sourced from Department of Education

• CAGR and market share figures are calculated from nominal revenue data quoted in Australian dollars, it achieved an impressive growth of 8.4% CAGR from 2008 to 2021, a growth rate higher than the industry average of 7.9%.