Which Countries Get the Most Students into Cambridge?

Each year, Cambridge receives applications from students from all over the world. However, disproportionately high numbers of applications come from certain countries, while others are barely represented. Consequently, some countries get large numbers of students into Cambridge, and others very few. We have analysed the data from 2024 to identify which countries send the most applications to Cambridge, and which countries have the most students admitted.

Countries with the highest number of applications and students admitted to Cambridge, 2024

Country	Applications	Students Admitted	Success Rate
UK	14,515	2,781	19.2%
China	2,308	252	10.9%
Singapore	577	153	26.5%
United States of America	571	38	6.7%
Hong Kong	557	98	17.6%
India	286	19	6.6%
Malaysia	263	22	8.4%
Germany	156	12	7.7%
Australia	147	16	10.9%
France	146	2	1.4%
Canada	144	11	7.6%
Ireland	142	16	11.3%
Spain	139	5	3.6%
United Arab Emirates	131	7	5.3%
Republic of Korea	110	16	14.5%
Poland	95	15	15.8%
Pakistan	91	4	4.4%
Italy	87	7	8.0%
Switzerland	82	6	7.3%
Thailand	75	9	12.0%
Cyprus	72	5	6.9%
Romania	67	8	11.9%
Japan	59	16	27.1%
Hungary	56	7	12.5%
Netherlands	56	1	1.8%
New Zealand	43	4	9.3%

It is unsurprising that the UK tops the lists as Cambridge is a British institution. However, despite such high numbers of applications, UK students have one of the highest success rates. This is likely due to a deeper familiarity with the Oxbridge and British application system, teachers having a better idea of the standard needed for a successful application and therefore advising unsuited students against applying, and the fact that UCAS has a limit of five universities for undergraduate applications, and so students with little chance of a successful Cambridge application won't apply.

It is interesting to see which other countries in the tables, with most students who aren't British coming from East, South-East, and East Asia, North America, Western Europe, and Australia.

If your counry is high on this table, great! If you do get into Cambridge, you'll find many other students from home. And if you don't see your country on this list, then you have the opportunity to be a trailblazer!