Annual Financial Return sector-level data for financial years ending in 2021
Income by source
The total income reported by higher education providers in 2020-21 was £37.3 billion compared with £36.1 billion in the previous year.
Figure 1 and Table 1 show the breakdown of income by sources. More than half of all income was from course fees and education contracts. More than a third of course fee income came from EU and other overseas student fees.
Figure 1: Income by source at English higher education providers 2020-21
Table 1: Income by source at English higher education providers 2019-20 and 2020-21, £ million
| Income source | 2019-20 £M | 2020-21 £M |
|---|---|---|
| Course fees and education contracts | 19,394 | 20,811 |
| Of which: | ||
| UK-domiciled students | 11,281 | 12,244 |
| EU-domiciled students | 1,119 | 1,206 |
| Non-EU domiciled students | 5,881 | 6,311 |
| Other fee income | 1,114 | 1,049 |
| Funding body grants | 3,905 | 4,099 |
| Research grants and contracts | 5,188 | 5,364 |
| Other income | 6,482 | 5,960 |
| Investment income | 324 | 287 |
| Donations and endowments | 851 | 784 |
| Total income | 36,145 | 37,306 |
Total figures may not appear to be the sum of their parts due to rounding
Published 30 June 2022
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