Key Info

  • Average temp during the day: 21.8C
  • Average rainy days per year: 79
  • 38,000 international students
  • 1.7 million population (1.3M in Adelaide)
  • Additional year of post-study work rights for graduates with a Higher Education qualification who remain in South Australia
  • Industry exposure for international students
  • Universities ranked in top 2% of world

Overview

South Australia is the country’s 'Festival State' and home to 3 major universities, including Flinders University. Together, they support a large, diverse student community, including 38,000 international students. More than 77% of the state’s 1.7 million residents live in greater Adelaide, its capital, making its population more concentrated than any state aside from Western Australia. 

That concentration leaves room for a remarkable variety of landscapes and communities. The South Australian coastline includes formations found nowhere else on earth, among them, the Bunda Cliffs, the world’s longest. Inland, South Australia includes a remarkable swathe of the Outback, including the famous Flinders Ranges. South Australa is also known for being the driest state in the driest continent in the world.

Its geographic diversity supports more than half of Australia’s wine production and a huge variety of recreational and cultural activities outside the capital. Each January, the 'Santos Tour Down Under' welcomes cyclists from around the world to Australia’s most celebrated cycling event, and the 'Clare Valley Gourmet Weekend' brings together the region’s best wineries and restaurants in Australia’s oldest food and wine festival.

South Australia’s economy is just as diverse, giving international students valuable opportunities while at university, along with the prospect of staying on to work in Australia after graduation. International students who earn a higher education qualification are eligible for an additional year of work rights following the conclusion of their studies.

Adelaide

Adelaide is South Australia’s capital and its only major city. Founded in 1836, the city was initially intended as the capital of the only British province in the country settled by free Europeans, as opposed to the convict settlers of other Australian cities of the time. Its wide boulevards and generous green spaces now give Adelaide a relaxed, almost genteel atmosphere that earned it the distinction of being the Economist Intelligence Unit’s third-most livable city on earth in 2021.

Better yet, Adelaide is one of Australia’s most affordable cities while being its fifth-largest, making it an ideal home for nearly 100,000 university students. As the capital of South Australia, Adelaide can also lay claim to being Australia’s food and wine capital. The city supports more restaurants than any other city in Australia, along with the largest fresh market in the Southern Hemisphere. 

Adelaide may also support more live music venues than any capital in the Southern Hemisphere, and it has been recognised by UNESCO as a City of Music. Its renowned festival culture includes the Adelaide Festival, Adelaide Fringe, the Adelaide Cabaret Festival, WOMAdelaide, and the Adelaide Film Festival. Many of these events occur in early spring, giving rise to the celebration of “Mad March.”

Adelaide is home to much of Australia’s defence industry, including its primary military research institution and the Australian headquarters of many international defence contractors. It is also the headquarters of the Australian Space Agency. Other major employers include manufacturing, technology, and healthcare. Along with South Australia’s generous post-graduation work allowances for international students, its diverse economic base makes Adelaide an excellent and sought-after destination for international students around the globe.