Uber vs taxi
Sometimes it's more convenient to hop in a taxi than negotiating your way around public transport, but do you opt for an Uber or taxi? We've done some research to find out which is cheaper to help you make the decision. Read more…
Yearly university fees around the world
19 September 2018
How do university fees in the UK compare to those of the rest of the world? We tracked down the minimum yearly university fees in 59 countries around the world to answer this question.
Prospective students balking at the size of a UK student loan won’t be surprised that the UK is the fifth most expensive, at £9,250, but the USA sits comfortably at the top with yearly fees of almost £20,000. See the map above for the rest of our findings.
If you’re an aspiring student who’d consider leaving the UK for your studies, it’s worth taking into account living costs as well as the university fees themselves. In the table below, we’ve combined the uni fees with estimated yearly living costs for each country’s biggest city, so you can compare the total costs you could expect in each.
Many countries in the EU offer free tuition to other EU citizens (which, for now, we still are). However, higher living costs in these countries compared with some of the Latin American and Middle Eastern countries mean that they might still not be the cheapest options, although they do still turn out significantly cheaper than staying in the UK.
If you really want to study on a shoestring, our analysis suggests that Turkey could be your best bet, with yearly fees of only £468, and cheap living costs. In Istanbul, for example, you could get by with less than £5,000 for the whole year.
The full list of countries
| Country | Minimum yearly fee for students from UK | Most populated city | Estimated yearly living cost | Total costs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | £19,968 | New York | £22,281 | £42,249 |
| New Zealand | £14,335 | Auckland | £13,649 | £27,984 |
| Australia | £11,453 | Sydney | £16,358 | £27,811 |
| Canada | £10,376 | Toronto | £14,060 | £24,436 |
| United Kingdom | £9,250 | London | £17,368 | £26,618 |
| Hong Kong | £8,963 | Hong Kong | £18,604 | £27,567 |
| Singapore | £7,794 | Singapore | £13,934 | £21,728 |
| Israel | £7,015 | Jerusalem | £12,892 | £19,907 |
| Lebanon | £6,266 | Beirut | £10,141 | £16,407 |
| Cuba | £5,250 | Havana | £4,954 | £10,204 |
| Saudi Arabia | £4,676 | Riyadh | £7,617 | £12,293 |
| Chile | £4,455 | Santiago | £8,453 | £12,908 |
| Uruguay | £4,318 | Montevideo | £8,919 | £13,237 |
| Hungary | £4,287 | Budapest | £7,342 | £11,629 |
| Qatar | £4,053 | Doha | £14,409 | £18,462 |
| South Africa | £4,053 | Johannesburg | £7,611 | £11,664 |
| Czech Republic | £3,507 | Prague | £8,668 | £12,175 |
| Japan | £3,227 | Tokyo | £14,249 | £17,475 |
| Russia | £3,040 | Moscow | £8,192 | £11,232 |
| China | £2,728 | Shanghai | £9,623 | £12,351 |
| Pakistan | £2,728 | Karachi | £3,847 | £6,575 |
| Ireland | £2,695 | Dublin | £16,690 | £19,385 |
| Latvia | £2,695 | Riga | £7,859 | £10,554 |
| Bulgaria | £2,604 | Sofia | £6,205 | £8,809 |
| Taiwan | £2,572 | Taipei* | £10,417 | £12,989 |
| India | £2,338 | Mumbai | £5,354 | £7,692 |
| Indonesia | £2,338 | Jakarta | £6,495 | £8,833 |
| Ukraine | £1,949 | Kiev | £4,931 | £6,879 |
| Romania | £1,796 | Bucharest | £6,198 | £7,994 |
| Poland | £1,793 | Warsaw | £7,767 | £9,559 |
| Netherlands | £1,752 | Amsterdam | £15,791 | £17,543 |
| Belarus | £1,559 | Minsk | £5,449 | £7,008 |
| South Korea | £1,559 | Seoul | £13,520 | £15,079 |
| Colombia | £1,510 | Bogota | £5,769 | £7,280 |
| Malaysia | £1,284 | Kuala Lumpur | £6,265 | £7,548 |
| Switzerland | £1,013 | Zürich | £22,398 | £23,411 |
| Estonia | £898 | Tallinn | £8,757 | £9,655 |
| Lithuania | £898 | Vilnius | £7,747 | £8,645 |
| Portugal | £853 | Lisbon | £9,290 | £10,143 |
| Belgium | £812 | Brussels | £12,480 | £13,292 |
| Maldives | £779 | Malé | £12,576 | £13,355 |
| Italy | £764 | Rome | £11,989 | £12,752 |
| Thailand | £714 | Bangkok | £8,743 | £9,457 |
| Spain | £624 | Madrid | £10,832 | £11,455 |
| Turkey | £468 | Istanbul | £4,432 | £4,899 |
| Iceland | £366 | Reykjavik | £19,109 | £19,475 |
| Mexico | £273 | Mexico City | £6,501 | £6,773 |
| Germany | £225 | Berlin | £12,097 | £12,322 |
| France | £170 | Paris | £15,570 | £15,739 |
| Kazakhstan | £156 | Almaty | £5,246 | £5,402 |
| Norway | £27 | Oslo | £17,679 | £17,707 |
| Argentina | £0 | Bueno Aires | £6,535 | £6,535 |
| Austria | £0 | Vienna | £12,394 | £12,394 |
| Brazil | £0 | Sāo Paulo | £6,965 | £6,965 |
| Denmark | £0 | Copenhagen | £15,550 | £15,550 |
| Finland | 0 | Helsinki | £13,344 | £13,344 |
| Greece | £0 | Athens | £8,472 | £8,472 |
| Malta | £0 | Malta* | £9,426 | £9,426 |
| Sweden | £0 | Stockholm | £13,430 | £13,430 |
More useful facts about studying abroad
Methodology
The university fees used in this piece were taken from TopUniversities study destination guides.Where available, the cheapest option for an undergraduate degree was used. All fees are for UK nationals studying at a public university.
- If a total course fee was supplied, this was divided by the length of the course.
- Similarly if a semester fee was supplied this was multiplied by the number of semesters in each year to give a total year cost.
- If a per-credit cost was supplied, the year cost was calculated by multiplying the credit cost by the number of credits required to pass.
- Where a university course incurred administration fees this was divided by the course length and added to the total to give an accurate representation of the cost of the degree.
The cost of living in each city was taken from cost-of-living site Numbeo. We used Numbeo’s estimate for a single person’s living costs excluding rent in each city, and added on a third of the average rent for a three-bedroom flat outside of the city centre.
*In Taiwan the largest city is actually New Taipei. However, the cost-of-living data was unavailable for this city, so we used Taipei (the capital) instead.
“The rise of technology and cheap flights has made the prospect of studying abroad much more realistic and less daunting than it was for previous generations. A large amount of international courses are being taught in English, and if British students don’t feel like our universities offer them value for money then they won’t hesitate to consider alternatives.
Something worth keeping an eye on is whether Brexit leads the UK to leave the European Economic Area (EEA) as well as the EU. In this scenario, it is likely that tuition fees for Brits would have to be negotiated with each country, increasing the likelihood that they might shoot up. Also bear in mind that traditional student loans aren’t available when studying abroad, although some countries do offer schemes to help foreign students fund their stay”.
– Jon Ostler, UK CEO at finder.com
For all media enquiries, please contact
Matt Mckenna
UK Communications Manager
M: +44 747 921 7816
T: +44 20 3828 1338
UK Communications Manager
M: +44 747 921 7816
T: +44 20 3828 1338
Latest stats + facts articles
Father’s Day dates around the world
Check out the dates that different countries around the world celebrate Father's Day. Read more…
Two thirds of Brits don’t use their data allowance
According to our research, two thirds of UK residents (67%) don’t normally use all the mobile data they pay for. Read more…
Missing social events to watch TV shows
How many Brits would skip a social event to stay in with their favourite show? We did research to find out. Read more…
Airbnb vs hotels
Airbnbs have surged in popularity, but are they better than hotels? To get to the bottom of this, we investigated whether British holidaymakers find the standards in Airbnbs are as good as those in hotels - or better - for important aspects such as cleanliness, value for money and authentic local experiences. Read more…
Bitcoin price predictions
The price of Bitcoin surged in May 2019, so we asked a panel of 10 fintech leaders why they think Bitcoin is on the rise; whether they think consumers should buy, hold, or sell; and what might be in store for the cryptocurrency. Read more…
Ask an Expert