High tuition fees change Sweden's student population from overseas

Sweden is undergoing a change in student demographics as the students from outside the EEA (European Economic Area) and Switzerland are obliged to pay for higher education in Sweden.

The number of admitted master's-level students from Pakistan and India—until now the two most common countries of origin—declined by 91 and 85 percent respectively between 2010 and 2011.
The average decrease for low-income countries was over 90 percent.
Richer countries outside the EEA have felt less of an impact.

China now has the most admitted students of all non-European countries. The number of admitted master's students from the United States declined by just over 40 percent—by comparison, a small decrease.
Sadiq Malik, a Pakistani student who enrolled at Stockholm University one year before the fees were introduced, says he would not have been able to afford paying the current tuition fees.

"My programme would cost me a total of 280,000 kronor ($40,500) and that's aside from my living expenses," he says. "Pakistan is a poor country, and the situation is getting worse day by day. I might earn that much money after a lifetime of working, but only then."
For most, the real worth of higher education is proven after graduation.

Foreign graduates have often struggled to find gainful employment after finishing their studies.
According to Sveriges Radio, about 1% of Sweden's international graduates in 2009 stayed in the country to work after graduating.

Out of those who do stay, not everyone is able to find employment commensurate with their qualifications.
"A lot of people I know from Pakistan and other non-European countries have completed one or even two master's degrees, and are still working at fast-food restaurants," says Sadiq Malik at Stockholm University.
"What, then, is the use of that degree? If most of the non-EEA graduates at the master's level disappear after completing their degrees, what's the use of attracting them in the first place? Swedish companies don't seem to be making use of the resources that are at their disposal."