Inbound Insight: Brazil

In this Inbound Insight series article, we look at the Brazilian outbound student mobility and explore the priorities of this student cohort when searching for student accommodation based on data gathered through the Global Student Living Index.

Outbound destinations

UNESCO figures show that in 2022, Brazil had 87,337 outbound international students. The number of outbound Brazilian students in tertiary education has increased by 50% since 2017; in 2017, there were 58,000 outbound Brazilian students 87,337 in 2022.  However, ICEF estimates that in 2023/24, there were at least 110,000 internationally mobile Brazilian students, including those studying the English language abroad.

Argentina, Portugal, Australia, the United States and Canada are the top destinations for students from Brazil.

What’s contributing to this growth?

Poor employment prospects for graduates and high youth unemployment rates are contributing to the high levels of interest in studying abroad. According to World Bank figures Brazil’s youth unemployment rate was 17.9% in 2023.

The World Bank reports that “Brazil’s real GDP expanded 2.9 percent in 2023, driven by robust private consumption and a favourable external environment benefiting exports. In 2024, Brazil’s GDP is expected to grow by 1.7 percent.

There is significant inequity in Brazil when it comes to opportunities and income distribution. Because of this, an undergraduate degree is seen as a pathway to social mobility.

Search priorities

Global Student Living Index data shows that Brazilian students have similar priorities to other international students when it comes to finding somewhere to live. However, certain aspects of accommodation matter more to students from Brazil. These include safety and security (70% vs 64% for all international students), budget (67% vs 60%), ensuite (64% vs 56%), transport links (54% vs 45%), and living on their own (57% vs 50%).

Room type and rent

Students from Brazil are more likely to be in private halls than other international students (88% vs 85%) and less likely to be in university halls (13% vs 15%). Brazilian students are more likely to be in a studio flat than other international students (46% vs 34%) and much less likely (51%) to be living in a private bedroom than the broader international student cohort (59%).

Search resources

Students from Iran are less likely to use social media than the broader international student cohort (23% vs 29%) when it comes to searching for somewhere to live. The top five resources used by Brazilian students are university websites (62%), general web searching (42%), social media (30%), online student reviews (22%) and personal recommendations from friends and family (18%). Brazilian students are significantly less likely (4%) than other international students (12%) to use an educational agent to assist them in their search.

Booking

When it comes to booking their accommodation, Brazilian students are slightly more likely to have booked with the university housing or accommodation office (37% vs 34% of all international students). Students from Brazil also favour booking through online student accommodation listings sites, although the proportion using these sites is slightly lower than it is for all international students (23% vs 24% of all international students). Brazilian students are also less likely to have booked via a consultant or agent than international students in general (3% vs 9%).

Struggles

GSL Index 2024 Q2 data highlights that Brazilian students struggle with slightly different issues to the overall international cohort. For the overall international student cohort, stress/anxiety, finding part-time work, meeting new people, keeping up with the workload and making the most of their time at university are the top five struggles reported by students. However, for Brazilian students, financial struggles, homesickness and study skills all feature in the top five: