Australia ‘most expensive' for overseas students

HSBC estimated that the average annual cost of studying in Australia was $38,516 (£24,936) compared with $35,705 in the US and $30,325 in the UK.

Australia has similar tuition fees to the US, at around $25,000, but living costs are higher.

In dramatic contrast, overseas students pay just $635 in tuition and less than $6,000 in living costs in Germany, making it the least expensive place to study out of 13 countries surveyed.

Annual costs were all below $10,000 in Russia, Taiwan, China and Spain.

Malik Sarwar, HSBC’s global head of wealth development, said: “With rising affluence, particularly in developing markets, and an increasingly competitive workplace that demands quality skills and a global outlook, we expect appetite for international education to continue to grow.

“Even though the market for higher education remains segmented and therefore mis-priced at an international level, the cost is going up everywhere as government subsidies are rolled back,” he added.

The fees data is based on the 10 largest universities in each country, while living costs are taken from Global Higher Education Rankings 2010: Affordability and Accessibility in Comparative Perspective, a report by Higher Education Strategy Associates, and HBSC research.

david.matthews@tsleducation.com