The bar chart compares the number of overseas students from five world regions at a British university in 2005 and 2020, while the pie chart shows the subjects these students were taking in 2020.
Overall, the university’s international intake grew substantially, driven mainly by a sharp rise in students from Asia, who became by far the largest group; Europe was the only region to send fewer students. As for subjects, business was the most popular choice in 2020.
In 2005, Europe supplied the most international students, at 1,500, slightly ahead of Asia’s 1,200. By 2020, however, the Asian figure had almost tripled to 3,400, whereas the European total had fallen to 1,100. Africa recorded the fastest relative growth, with numbers tripling from 300 to 900, and the Middle East also rose, from 500 to 800, while the Americas saw only a modest increase, from 600 to 700.
Turning to subjects, just over a third of international students (34%) were studying business in 2020, followed by engineering at 22% and computing at 18%. Medicine and health accounted for 15%, and arts and humanities was the least popular field, attracting only 11%.
Environmental problems such as climate change, plastic pollution and the loss of wildlife are so vast that individual efforts can seem pointless. While I accept that governments and large corporations hold the greatest power, I disagree with the claim that ordinary people can do little to protect the environment.
It is true that the scale of the problem favours large institutions. A single coal-fired power station can emit more carbon dioxide in a day than a household does in a lifetime, and only governments can impose carbon taxes, fund renewable energy or ban harmful chemicals. Seen in this light, asking individuals to recycle a few bottles or switch off lights may appear almost symbolic, and some critics even argue that it distracts attention from those who are truly responsible.
However, this view underestimates both the cumulative and the indirect influence of individuals. Millions of small decisions about what people eat, how they travel and what they buy add up to a significant share of total emissions, and shifts in consumer demand have already pushed companies to offer electric cars and plant-based foods. More importantly, individuals are not only consumers but also citizens. Governments tend to act on the environment when voters demand it, and many major reforms, from clean-air laws to bans on certain plastics, followed campaigns started by ordinary people.
Individuals also shape social norms. When people see their neighbours installing solar panels or their colleagues cycling to work, such behaviour gradually comes to seem normal, which in turn makes ambitious government policies easier to introduce and to accept.
In conclusion, although the decisive measures must come from governments and businesses, those measures rarely happen without pressure and example from individuals. Personal action, as both consumers and citizens, therefore makes a genuine difference.