Australian education sector earns $12.5 bln

CANBERRA, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Education in Australia has replaced tourism as the country's biggest services export with 12.5 billion dollar earning last year.

The latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show revenue from education exports increased by 21 percent last year, to 12.5 billion dollars (11.25 billion U.S. dollars), eclipsing the tourism industry, which brought in 11.5 billion (10.35 U.S. dollars).

Education has become the third top export overall, trailing behind only coal and iron ore production. The top export was coal, which generated 20.8 billion dollars (18.7 billion U.S. dollars), followed by iron ore, worth 16 billion dollars (14.4 billion U.S. dollars), according to a report from The Australian on Wednesday.

Leading international education agent IDP said more than 450,000 overseas students were enrolled in Australian schools, universities and TAFEs (technical and further educations) last year, up 18 percent on 2006.

China was the country or region with the most students coming to Australian universities, followed by India, South Korea, Malaysia and Hong Kong region.