British Universities top for turning out world leaders

More world leaders have studied in the UK than in any other country including the US, fresh data has shown.



The findings cast a shadow over the Government’s policy of reducing the number of foreign students coming to the UK.

A total of 58 world leaders were educated at British Universities, compared to America’s 57 and France’s 33.

The leaders of countries from Iceland to Malaysia and from Nigeria to Peru are among those who have attended university in Britain, according to data from the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI).

The director of HEPI, Nick Hillman, said the data showed British Universities were a “source of real soft power”.

“Not only do these leaders have a British qualification that helped them reach the top, they have also spent time here creating a strong sense of loyalty to the country. It’s a source of real soft power, and a fantastic testament to the quality of our universities,” he said.

He hit out at the Government’s attempts to crackdown on the number of foreign students and said the policy would be “catastrophic to our influence around the world”.

Oxford emerged as the most popular choice for world leaders to obtain their degrees from.

Aung San Suu Kyi, the de facto head of government in Burma, took degrees at Oxford and Soas University of London during the 1960s and 1980s and she visited St Hugh’s College, Oxford, her alma mater, on her last visit to the UK.

The data showed Bristol, Warwick and Manchester have all had world leaders matriculate.