The number of Bulgarian students in the United Kingdom has slightly declined by – 415 students less in four academic years, official figures have shown. A total of 6,185 Bulgarians studied in the UK during 2017/18, which numbers decreased to 5,770 by 2020/21, the education search platform Erudera.com reports.
Erudera points out that the number of Bulgarian students in the UK has not fluctuated much in numbers in recent academic years, unlike in its neighboring countries where there has been a significant increase and decrease in students.
The group of 5,770 Bulgarians was settled in the following countries:
- England – 4,585
- Scotland – 920
- Wales – 255
- Northern Ireland – 10
During the last academic year, Bulgarian students were enrolled mainly in these UK universities:
- Coventry University – 330 students
- The University of Surrey – 200 students
- The University of Southampton – 180 students
- The University of Aberdeen – 165 students
- King’s College London – 150 students
- The University of Manchester – 145 students
- The University of Greenwich – 130 students
- The University of Lancaster – 125
Whereas, over the past academic years, the number of students from Bulgaria in the UK stood at:
- 6,185 students during 2017/18
- 6,125 students during 2018/19
- 5,960 students during 2019/20
- 5,770 students during 2020/21
The United Kingdom is the world’s second most popular study destination among international students, just after the US, by 2020/21 the UK hosted up to 605,130 international students.
The majority of international students in the UK come from China, India, the United States, Pakistan, etc.
A 13.08% increase in the international student enrolment at the postgraduate level occurred between 2019/20 and 2020/21
- Three top subjects of study for international students in the UK were Business and Management, Engineering and Technology, and Social Sciences.
- The largest number of international students in the UK study Business and Management (177,715).
- Engineering and Technology is the second most chosen subject of study for international students in the UK (with a total of 63,375 students).
- Social Sciences and Computing rank third and fourth in the number of international students enrolled in such disciplines (51,930).