In this Inbound Insight series article, we look at the mobility of students from the Indonesia 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, Indonesia had 62,828 outbound international students. This represents a 29% increase from 2017, when there were 48,550 Indonesian students studying abroad.

Australia has been the biggest beneficiary of this growth, with the Indonesian student numbers increasing significantly over the past few years.  In 2024, there were 23,326 Indonesian students studying in Australia, a 41% increase from 2018, when there were 16,534.

The most recent data available for the UK shows that the UK has also experienced growth in Indonesian student numbers – from 3,095 in 2018/19 to 4,230 in 2022/23, an increase of 36%.

Meanwhile the number of Indonesian students studying in the US have remained fairly steady. In 2018/19 there were 8,300 Indonesian students in the US and in 2023/24 there were 8,348.

What’s contributing to this growth?

Indonesia has the World’s fourth largest population and is Southeast Asia’s largest economy. It has experienced healthy economic growth over the last 30 years and, according to the World Bank, in July 2023, Indonesia regained upper-income status after losing it in 2020 due to the impact of the pandemic on the Indonesian economy.

Analysis undertaken by Oxford Economics on behalf of the British Council shows that between 2019-30, the number of middle- and high-income households in Indonesia is expected to increase by 4 million. According to the British Council report, Indonesia (along with Bangladesh, Philippines and Vietnam) is a ‘rising star’ in the global outbound student market due to its growth potential, and moderate levels of macro risk.

A 2021 Universities UK report notes that Indonesian students “have a mix of personal and professional development reasons for choosing to pursue higher education abroad. Firstly, students consider the quality of education abroad to be better than at home and see more opportunities to develop their careers. In Indonesian universities, it is impossible to pursue a postgraduate degree in a different field of study from one’s undergraduate degree. Also, teaching methods at home are regarded as more theoretical, while overseas institutions are felt to provide more opportunities for practical engagement and skills development.”

Search priorities

Global Student Living Index data shows that Indonesian students have similar priorities to other international students when it comes to finding somewhere to live. However, travel time to their place of study is more important for Indonesian students (79%) than it is for the broader international student cohort (70%) as is budget is (70% vs 55%).

Accommodation type

Students from Indonesia are less likely to be in private halls than other international students (73% vs 85%) and more likely to be in university halls (20% vs 15%).

Search resources

Students from Indonesia are significantly less likely to use social media than the broader international student cohort (16% vs 29%) when it comes to searching for somewhere to live. The top five resources used by Indonesian students when searching for somewhere to live are university websites (55%), general web searching (27%), personal recommendations from friends and family (22%), social media (16%), and online reviews (16%). Students from Indonesia are also slightly less likely (10%) than other international students (12%) to use an educational agent to assist them in their search.

Booking

When it comes to booking their accommodation, Indonesian students are more likely to have booked with the university housing or accommodation office (45% vs 34% of all international students). Indonesian students 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). Students from the Indonesia are also less likely to have booked via a consultant or agent than international students in general (6% vs 9%).

Struggles

GSL Index 2024 Q4 data highlights that the struggles faced by Indonesian students differ slightly to the overall international student cohort, with budgeting significantly more of a concern. For the overall international student cohort, meeting new people, stress/anxiety, finding part-time work, keeping up with the workload and making the most of their time at university are the top five struggles reported by students. However, for Indonesian students, budgeting effectively, having the confidence to do the things I want to do and study skills feature in the top five:

StruggleIndonesian StudentsAll International Students
Budgeting Effectively51%28%
Making the most of my time at university45%29%
Meeting new people41%38%
Having the confidence to do the things I want to do41%23%
Study skills39%27%