According to the study, launched as part of a week of events designed to highlight Welsh universities¡¯ contribution to growth, the sector generates around 3 per cent of the country¡¯s employment and gross domestic product.

The report, written by Viewforth Consulting and commissioned by Higher Education Wales, found that ?1 billion of the total figure comes from off-campus spending by students, while international students generate ?400 million in export earnings for Wales.

Ursula Kelly, director of Viewforth and a visiting scholar in the department of economics at the University of Strathclyde, said it demonstrated the sector was ¡°generating economic output, jobs, GDP and supporting communities across the country¡±.

Today a week-long campaign, called Welsh Universities ¨C Driving Growth, will be launched at the Welsh Assembly in Cardiff.

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Some figures in Wales have questioned whether the country¡¯s universities are performing as well as those in other parts of the UK.

In 2012, Angela Burns, the Conservative shadow minister for education in Wales, asked during a debate why the country had no universities in the top 100 of the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, yet Scotland had five.

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According to 2007-11 figures, just five university spin-off companies were formed in Wales, compared to 70 in Scotland and 346 in England.

Leighton Andrews, the Welsh minister for education and skills, said that the Viewforth report contained ¡°significant figures¡± and that the sector was ¡°integral to driving the economy in Wales, supporting industry, research and innovation and generating employment¡±.

david.matthews@tsleducation.com