£56.5bn
£X.Xbn
495k
168
£XX.Xbn
Over the five years through 2024-25, the Universities industry's revenue is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 2.1% to £56.5 billion. The increase in tuition fees to £9,250 in 2017-18 has been an important driver of revenue growth. However, with tuition fees frozen since then, inflation and particularly high inflation in the two years through 2023-24 has meant their real value has plummeted. The cap on undergraduate student numbers in the UK was lifted in 2020-21, leading to a rise in student enrolments, which has helped prop up universities’ income.
Industry revenue has grown at a CAGR of 2.1 % over the past five years, to reach an estimated £56.5bn in 2024.
Market size is projected to grow over the next five years.
Company | Market Share (%)
2025 | Revenue (£m)
2025 |
---|---|---|
University of Oxford | 2,113.0 | |
University College London | 2,087.3 | |
University of Cambridge | 2,004.3 |
To view the market share and analysis for all 6 top companies in this industry, view purchase options.
Industry revenue is measured across several distinct product and services lines, including First degrees, PGCEs and ProfGCEs and Foundation degrees. First degrees is the largest segment of the Universities in the UK.
First degrees at universities remain the top choice for school leavers
Universities offer higher education, leading to qualifications such as bachelor’s degrees, foundation degrees, master’s degrees and higher education diplomas. They provide full and part-time teaching and training that leads to both undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications.
Purchase this report to view all 6 major companies in this industry.
SIC 85.42/1 - Universities in the UK
Get an indication of the industry's health through historical, current and forward-looking trends in the performance indicators that make or break businesses.
Frozen domestic tuition fees are an issue. Some universities are being forced to make budget cuts as they wrestle with falling international numbers that are squeezing financ...
Learn about an industry's products and services, markets and trends in international trade.
First degrees remain universities' biggest offering. They’re most popular among young people fresh out of school, though lots of mature students are also enrolling onto first...
Discover where business activity is most concentrated in an industry and the factors driving these trends to find opportunities and conduct regional benchmarking.
London-based universities can attract students from all over the world. Who wouldn’t want to live in the UK’s famous capital? Notable institution located here include Univers...
Get data and insights on what's driving competition in an industry and the challenges industry operators and new entrants may face, with analysis built around Porter's Five Forces framework.
Universities with a strong reputation thrive. Students graduating from a more selective and highly rated university are likely to do well in their future careers. Just look a...
Learn about the performance of the top companies in the industry.
There's no shortage of choice when it comes to universities. School leavers have plenty of institutions to choose from – around 168 in 2024-25. However, strong reputations se...
Understand the demographic, economic and regulatory factors that shape how businesses in an industry perform.
Universities face oversight from the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education. The body monitors the level of education being provided by universities to make sure it’s ...
View average costs for industry operators and compare financial data against an industry's financial benchmarks over time.
Frozen tuition fees hold profit down. They’ve been capped at £9,250 since 2017-18 and are set to stay at this level until at least 2024-25. Universities are expressing concer...
Including values and annual change:
IBISWorld has been a leading provider of trusted industry research for over 50 years to the most successful companies worldwide. With offices in Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and China, we are proud to have local teams of analysts that conduct research, data analysis and forecasting to produce data-driven industry reports.
Our analysts start with official, verified and publicly available sources of data to build the most accurate picture of each industry. Analysts then leverage their expertise and knowledge of the local markets to synthesize trends into digestible content for IBISWorld readers. Finally, each report is reviewed by one of IBISWorld’s editors, who provide quality assurance to ensure accuracy and readability.
IBISWorld relies on human-verified data and human-written analysis to compile each standard industry report. We do not use generative AI tools to write insights, although members can choose to leverage AI-based tools within the platform to generate additional analysis formats.
Each industry report incorporates data and research from government databases, industry-specific sources, industry contacts, and our own proprietary database of statistics and analysis to provide balanced, independent and accurate insights.
Key data sources in the UK include:
Analysts also use industry specific sources to complement catch-all sources, although their perspective may focus on a particular organization or representative body, rather than a clear overview of all industry operations. However, when balanced against other perspectives, industry-specific sources provide insights into industry trends.
These sources include:
Finally, IBISWorld’s global data scientists maintain a proprietary database of macroeconomic and demand drivers, which our analysts use to help inform industry data and trends. They also maintain a database of statistics and analysis on thousands of industries, which has been built over our more than 50-year history and offers comprehensive insights into long-term trends.
IBISWorld’s analysts and data scientists use the sources above to create forecasts for our proprietary datasets and industry statistics. Depending on the dataset, they may use regression analysis, multivariate analysis, time-series analysis or exponential smoothing techniques to project future data for the industry or driver. Additionally, analysts will leverage their local knowledge of industry operating and regulatory conditions to impart their best judgment on the forecast model.
IBISWorld prides itself on being a trusted, independent source of data, with over 50 years of experience building and maintaining rich datasets and forecasting tools. We are proud to be the keystone source of industry information for thousands of companies across the world.
Learn more about our methodology and data sourcing on the Help Center.
Unlock comprehensive answers and precise data upon purchase. View purchase options.
The market size of the Universities in the UK industry in United Kingdom is £56.5bn in 2024.
There are 168 businesses in the Universities in the UK industry in United Kingdom, which has grown at a CAGR of 1.4 % between 2019 and 2024.
The market size of the Universities in the UK industry in United Kingdom has been growing at a CAGR of 2.1 % between 2019 and 2024.
Over the next five years, the Universities in the UK industry in United Kingdom is expected to grow.
The biggest companies operating in the Universities market in United Kingdom are University of Oxford, University College London and University of Cambridge
First degrees and Taught master's degrees are part of the Universities in the UK industry.
The company holding the most market share in United Kingdom is University of Oxford.
The level of competition is high and increasing in the Universities in the UK industry in United Kingdom.