The table displays the changes in the number of postgraduates from home and abroad at Australian universities over a ten-year period from 2001 to 2010. And the pie charts compare the gender distribution of these domestic and overseas students pursuing master’s degrees in the same time period.
In general, Australia received far more overseas research students than in the previous decade. On top of that, female international students increased dramatically.
In 2001, the majority of postgraduates in Australia were of local origin, at 87%, with equal proportions of females and males at 43%. In contrast, the remainder was international research students, comprising 4% of females and 9% of males.
By 2010, however, the number of overseas research students had expended significantly, nearly doubling from 13% to 27%. Meanwhile, female postgraduates from abroad outnumbered males by 15%. By comparison, the number of local postgraduates shrinked to roughly three-quarters, while the gender gap widened slightly.