There are now more than 15,000 English-medium international schools operating around the world, according to ISC Research.
The firm made the claim in its latest Global Market Overview 2025 report, putting the figure at 15,075 specifically and saying this means these schools are now responsible for educating 7.6 million students, and are generating $69.3 billion in fee income.
Based on this growth, the top five countries by school total are now:
- China: 1,117 schools
- India: 991 schools
- UAE: 898 schools
- Pakistan: 701 schools
- Indonesia: 465 schools
Emerging nations
ISC’s report also said around 40 per cent of all schools now belong to an international school group, while many Western private school brands are still growing their international presence too.
For example, last week Royal Grammar School, Guildford (RGSG) announced plans to open four schools in India, while Wellington College is opening a new school in Nigeria to expand its international presence too.
Furthermore, while nations such as China, India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are the big markets for schools, the report also noted that other nations are seeing a strong uptick in schools, which is driving wider market growth.
For example, there are now 117 international schools in Kenya; Romania has 67 schools, a number anticipated to grow now that the nation is part of the Schengen Area; Colombia has 127 schools; and Kazakhstan 42.
Sami Yosef, head of global research at ISC Research, said this growth was testament to the sector’s buoyancy, but that some nations were likely to benefit more from this than others.
”Geopolitics and mobility policies are reshaping where families settle and how schools plan,” he said.
“Several jurisdictions have eased routes for international talent, while others have tightened access. The practical impact is uneven pipelines for staff and shifting enrolment patterns that reward systems with clarity and openness.”
New trends
As part of this growth, international schools are also having to evolve how they operate in response to new sector trends - such as a greater focus on English as an additional language (EAL) in response to rising enrolments of local pupils.
The importance of pupil wellbeing due to wider awareness of mental health concerns is also more prominent, as well as schools and exam boards considering new forms of assessment, such as online exams, to improve “flexibility and accessibility”.
“The common thread is responsiveness: the schools that thrive in 2025 are those that read their local context clearly, invest in people and quality, and keep pathways open to the world,” added Yosef.
You can now get the UK’s most-trusted source of education news in a mobile app. Get Tes magazine on iOS and on Android
