Market intelligence for international student recruitment from ICEF
27th Feb 2019

Thai universities working to attract more Chinese students

Mark Thailand down as the latest Asian market to step up its efforts to attract greater numbers of Chinese students. And the underlying reason is a familiar one: total tertiary enrolment in Thailand has flattened and even begun to decline over the last several years. Since 2012, total higher education enrolment in the country has dropped from 2,430,000 students to just over 2,410,000 as of 2017. Thai universities are increasingly looking to China to help offset those declining domestic numbers, and the number of Chinese students in Thai higher education is on the rise as a result. Drawing on figures from the Asia Research Center for Migration at Chualongkorn University, Reuters reports that nearly 8,500 Chinese students were enrolled in Thai higher education as of 2017, roughly double the number from 2012. Many of those students are drawn from China’s southern provinces, and for them Thailand represents a chance to pursue a relatively high-quality higher education along with new career opportunities in the bustling Thai economy. The affordability of Thai universities is a key consideration for Chinese students as well. Average tuitions range around US$3,700 per academic year, but this compares to tuition rates of US$8,000 per year in a more established regional destination such as Singapore, or as much as US$60,000 in the United States. “If I work here I will have more opportunities than where I came from,” Chinese student Cherry He Ting, who first arrived Thailand as an exchange student several years ago and is now wrapping up a master’s degree in history. For their part, Thai universities are responding to Chinese demand by laying on additional programmes and services targeted to Chinese students. But some also see the influx of visiting students from China – which has been accompanied as well by growing numbers of Chinese academics taking up post in Thai higher education and even by Chinese investments in private universities in Thailand – as part of a broader effort to expand China’s influence in Southeast Asia. China’s massive “One Belt One Road” foreign investment framework is squarely aimed at building trade, diplomatic, and academic links between China and Southeast Asia (along with many other markets along the traditional Silk Road trade routes). Among many other initiatives in the region, it has provided for additional scholarship support for Chinese students in Southeast Asia. For additional background, please see:

Most Recent

  • US institutions bracing for a challenging enrolment outlook for 2025/26 Read More
  • How the UK’s Agent Quality Framework will shape the future of agent training Read More
  • Dutch government walks back controversial measures to constrain English-taught degrees Read More

Most Popular

  • Which countries will contribute the most to global student mobility in 2030? Read More
  • Research shows link between study abroad and poverty alleviation  Read More
  • Beyond the Big Four: How demand for study abroad is shifting to destinations in Asia and Europe Read More

Because you found this article interesting

US institutions bracing for a challenging enrolment outlook for 2025/26 The Institute of International Education’s (IIE) twice-yearly snapshot surveys are always required reading for international educators. That is...
Read more
How the UK’s Agent Quality Framework will shape the future of agent training This article was originally published in the ICEF Academy Knowledge Hub and is reproduced here with permission. International...
Read more
Dutch government walks back controversial measures to constrain English-taught degrees In a 3 July 2025 letter to the Dutch parliament, Education Minister Eppo Bruins explained that the government...
Read more
New Zealand announces strong foreign enrolment growth along with a new international education strategy Following a post-pandemic surge in 2023, Education New Zealand (ENZ) announced this week that the country’s international student...
Read more
The surging demand for skills training in a rapidly changing global economy With more than 175 million users, Coursera is the largest online learning platform in the world. It currently...
Read more
US issues corrected student visa data showing growth for 2024 while current trends point to an enrolment decline for 2025/26 In April 2025, we reported that foreign enrolments in the US had declined by -11% between March 2024...
Read more
Survey finds US institutions expanding agency engagement and focusing on new student markets AIRC (The Association of International Enrollment Management) and BONARD have just released a second edition of the State...
Read more
Canada’s language sector buffeted by policy changes in 2024 Amid reports of mounting job losses and programme cuts across Canadian education, the country’s language education providers are...
Read more
What are you looking for?
Quick Links