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Across the UK, just under a third of the sector's income came from tuition fees and educational contracts, with fees paid by students from outside the European Union accounting for ?2.9 billion of the ?8.3 billion total.

The table, taken from Finances of Higher Education Institutions 2010/11, shows that Scotland gets the largest proportion of income from non-EU students, but that does not mean that it takes proportionally more than England, Wales or Northern Ireland. It reflects the fact that Scottish students do not pay tuition fees and are largely supported by their government.

The report finds that English institutions have the healthiest surplus of income over spending - 4.6 per cent - followed by Scotland (3.7 per cent), Wales (2.5 per cent) and Northern Ireland (1.3 per cent).