Southeast Asia is a priority region for the international education sector. And for good reason. Home to around 700 million people and a growing middle‑class eager for high‑value services such as education, the region is projected to become the world’s fourth‑largest economy, after the United States, China and India. This makes it a critical market for student mobility and transnational education.
For institutions looking to attract international students, the opportunities are enormous. Yet recent data paints a mixed picture, with demand patterns shifting significantly in recent years. Responding to these trends and student preferences will be essential for success.
A long history of international mobility
Southeast Asian students have been studying abroad for decades, including in Australia and New Zealand since the 1950s after the Colombo Plan paved the way for hundreds of thousands of students from the region to study overseas. With large youth populations, such as in Indonesia and in the Philippines, demand is set to grow further as more young people seek educational opportunities internationally.
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