Band 7+: The graphs below show the enrolments of overseas students and local students in Australian universities over a ten year period. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. You should write at least 150 words.

The data illustrates the number of accepted local students and international students in Australian universities between 2001 and 2010.

Overall, the quantity of all local students was higher than the quantity of overseas students throughout the entire period. In addition, the number of first-year foreign students gradually increased from 2001 to 2010. The number of new local students, however, experienced fluctuations.

To begin with, the number of international students significantly increased, from 20,000 students to just over 80,000 students in 2010. There were approximately 11,000 first-year foreign students in 2001 before growing steadily to around 30,000 students until 2008, surpassing the number of local first-year students in 2006. After this, the number of students from foreign countries rose notably by approximately 10,000 students in 2009.

The quantity of local students increased rapidly between 2001 and 2007, reaching its peak of just over 60,000 students. In 2001, the number of commencing native students was approximately 18,000, considerably increasing to around 24,000 students in 2002 and then slightly declining to just under 20,000 students in 2006. After this, the number of starting students increased to around 23,000, decreasing to just over 20,000 in 2010.