The number of EU students studying at Scottish universities has fallen by around 60%, according to new research highlighting the continuing impact of Brexit on higher education.
Figures from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre show EU student numbers dropping from 20,895 to 8,140.
The decline follows the end of the arrangements that previously allowed EU students to study in Scotland under the conditions available before the UK left the European Union.
Research from the Higher Education Policy Institute has warned that the collapse in EU student numbers could ultimately cost the Scottish economy around £1.5 billion.
Universities have attracted growing numbers of students from countries outside the EU during the same period, but that increase has not been enough to prevent an overall decline in international student numbers.
According to the figures highlighted by the SNP, Scotland has experienced an overall fall of 4,645 international students.
The party argues the figures demonstrate an economic consequence of Brexit that extends considerably beyond university campuses.
International students contribute through tuition fees and everyday spending while supporting employment and economic activity in the communities where they study.
Some remain in Scotland after graduating, bringing skills into the workforce and establishing careers, businesses and families.
The SNP has used the latest figures to renew its argument that Scotland should become independent and rejoin the European Union.
SNP MSP Alyn Smith said:
“Scotland was dragged out Europe against our will, but we are left facing the disastrous consequences every day, nowhere is that felt more than in our world-class universities.
“These figures show Brexit has hammered our universities, but attracting the brightest and best overseas students to Scotland also meant those people made Scotland their home, that is an incredible economic benefit that Scotland has lost.
“It is only through the fresh start of independence that Scotland can rejoin the EU and rebuild ties with our neighbours, that’s how we build a wealthier Scotland country, back at the heart of Europe where we belong.”
The figures provide a particularly stark comparison with the period when Scotland was part of the EU and its universities could recruit European students under a very different system.
They do not establish that every change in international student numbers is attributable to Brexit, particularly as recruitment from outside Europe has also changed.
What they do show is the scale of the decline among students coming specifically from EU countries.
From 20,895 students to 8,140 represents the disappearance of more than 12,000 EU students from Scottish higher education.
For Scotland’s universities and the wider economy around them, that is not a small change.
