IDP Education

IDP
Education
2010 South Asia
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IDP Education • SOUTH ASIA
Countries under South Asia
India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Mauritius
ECONOMY
Figure 1. Percentage GDP Growth for South Asian Countries, 2008 to 2011
Source: International Monetary Fund - WEO April 2010, July 2010.
According to the July 2010 IMF forecast report, GDP growth in the key South Asian countries is forecast to
grow moderately after declines in 2009, India from 5.7% in 2009 to 9.4% in 2010, Bangladesh showing no
growth in 2010 at 5.4%, Sri Lanka from 3.5% to 5.5% and Mauritius from 1.5% to 4.1% in 2010.
Figure 2. Offshore Visa Grants and AEI Commencements by Sector for South Asian Countries, 2008 to 2010
Sources: Australian Education International – Standard Pivot Table, June 2010, DIAC Visa Grants data.
(1)
AEI Commencement data from 2008 to 2010 by financial year (July to June).
(2)
DIAC Visa data is Offshore Visa Grants by financial year.
Of all the source countries in the Southern and Central Asia region, India still continues to be the largest
source country for commencements into Australia. Commencements from India accounted for 18.9% of total
commencements in FY2008, 21.0% in FY2009 and 14.7% in FY2010.
DIAC offshore visa grants (across all combined sectors) have declined as follows between FY2009 and FY2010:
India declined very strongly from 65,503 to 29,721 (-54.6%), Bangladesh from 4,265 to 3,476 (-18.5%), Sri Lanka
from 3,763 to 2,774 (-26.3%) and Mauritius from 3,004 to 1,613 (-46.3%).
Commencements (across all sectors) grew moderately between FY2009 and FY2010 for India from 60,060 to
67,420 commencements (+10.0%) and Bangladesh from 2,997 to 3,511 commencements (17.2%). Countries to
decline include Sri Lanka down -7.4% from 4,370 to 4,045 commencements and Mauritius from 2,840 to 2,319
commencements (-18.3%).

SOUTH ASIA • IDP Education
Market overview
India: Large, dynamic and steadily expanding, the Indian
economy is characterised by a huge workforce operating
in many new sectors of opportunity. India is a young country
with one third of the population in the 15-35 age group and
a median age of 25.3.
The Indian economy is one of the fastest growing economies
with GDP forecast to grow at upwards of 8% in FY 2011 and
is the 12th largest in terms of the market exchange rate at
$1,242 billion. In terms of purchasing power parity, the Indian
economy ranks the fourth largest in the world. However, poverty
still remains a major concern besides disparity in income.
Bangladesh: The economy has grown 5-6% per year since
1996 despite political instability, poor infrastructure, corruption,
insufficient power supplies, and slow implementation of
economic reforms. Bangladesh’s growth was resilient during the
2008-09 global financial crisis and recession. Garment exports,
totalling $12.3 billion in FY09 and remittances from overseas
Bangladeshis totalling $9.7 billion in FY09 accounted for almost
25% of GDP.
Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka saw GDP growth average at nearly 5%
in the last 10 years. Growth was 3.5% in 2009, still high despite
the world recession. Sri Lanka’s most dynamic sectors are now
food processing, textiles and apparel, food and beverages, port
construction, telecommunications, and insurance and banking.
About 1.5 million Sri Lankans work abroad, 90% of them in the
Middle East and in total send home more than $3 billion a year.
Mauritius: Mauritius has witnessed enormous development
in the last decade. From an economy, dependent mainly on
sugar, it has diversified its economic activities to the textile and
apparel industry, tourism and financial services. Foreign Direct
Investment has flowed into the country on account of the highly
skilled labour force and very good infrastructure. The average
economic growth was 5.6% over the last 3 years, while the GDP
per capita has reached US$4000. All of this has resulted in a
higher standard of living with the life expectancy rate at 71.4
years, and adult literacy rate at 83 percent.

IDP Strategy in South Asia
IDP Education India today has 14 offices across the country.
The opening of three new offices in Coimbatore, Kolkatta
and West Delhi in 2010 is part of the geographical expansion
strategy and continuous focus on the Australian Higher
Education market. With the decline in overall enrolments for
Australia, it is important for IDP to gain greater market share
from across the country which will in turn provide greater
opportunities for Australian institutions.
IDP India has invested in a range of web marketing activities
to promote Australian education. The IDP India website has
a live chat feature, where trained counselors answer student
queries and send qualified leads to the nearest IDP office for
further counseling and follow up. The IDP blog also hosts a
series of comprehensive articles about Australian universities
and courses.
The introduction of the Central Assessment Centre (CAC)
in IDP India has supported participating universities with
application processing and issuance of offer letters. The
turnaround time of 48 hours has improved conversions from
application to enrolment for these universities.
IDP India transitioned to becoming a multi-destination service
provider in 2010 with the introduction of student services for
the U.S. It is envisaged that this transition will increase the
numbers of students in our offices and in turn opportunities for
Australian education.
IDP remains committed to Sri Lanka in the face of the current
situation with the opening up of the economy, growth in upper
and middle class segments leading to growth and distribution
of wealth amongst a larger section of the population the
number of students seeking an international education will
continue to grow.
In Bangladesh there is a shortfall of places in higher education
for students who graduate with the higher secondary
education certificate. The existing 81 universities are unable
to meet the demand for higher education. As the University
Grants Commission works at bringing positive reforms to the
higher education sector the number of students seeking an
international education will continue to grow.
In Mauritius IDP is strongly committed to maintaining the level
of Australia-bound students. A strong and open dialogue with
clients and improving our levels of service to our students will
be of paramount importance throughout 2011 and beyond. In
view of the various challenges faced by Australian institutions,
IDP Mauritius has already started to implement a series of
niche marketing strategies and developing further PR activities
and communication with media and corporate bodies.
For more information on South East Asia contact the
country websites:
www.india.idp.com
www.srilanka.idp.com
www.bangladesh.idp.com
www.mauritius.idp.com
This publication is for general information only.
Current as at October 2010.
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