form six graduates

Hong Kong students studying overseas hits 14-year low as mainland influx shifts trends

The number of Hong Kong secondary school leavers pursuing higher studies outside the city fell to a 14-year low in 2025, with only 2,671 students (6.5% of 40,948 Form Six graduates) choosing to study abroad. This represents a 13% drop from 2024 and a 56% decline from the 2020 peak. An expert attributes the trend to a surge in mainland Chinese students targeting local universities, estimating over 10% of Hong Kong secondary students are now from the mainland.