TL;DR: Oxford made offers to 16.7% of applicants in 2025. That average hides two very different numbers: 21.0% for UK-domiciled applicants and 9.8% for everyone else. Country matters too. Across 2023 to 2025, Singapore applicants were admitted at roughly 13.8% and Indian applicants at roughly 4.1%.
Oxford publishes its admissions numbers broken down by domicile every year, going back five years.
Use the headline figure and you will plan against the wrong number. The gap between UK and international applicants is not small, and it has been moving in different directions for different groups.
Here is what the 2025 data shows.
What is Oxford’s acceptance rate?
In the 2025 cycle Oxford received 23,329 applications, made 3,891 offers and admitted 3,302 students.
That is an offer rate of 16.7% and an admitted rate of 14.2%.
Both are university-wide averages. They are built from three pools that behave very differently.
Source, and the basis for every figure below: https://assets-oxweb.admin.ox.ac.uk/2026-07/Undergraduate%20Admissions%20Report%202026_0.pdf
How different is it for international students?
Substantially. That is Oxford’s own word. Its report states that UK-domiciled applicants are substantially more likely to receive an offer than students from outside the UK.
| 2025 cycle | Applications | Offers | Offer rate | Admitted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | 14,340 | 3,006 | 21.0% | 2,609 |
| EU | 1,389 | 101 | 7.3% | 82 |
| Non-EU | 7,600 | 784 | 10.3% | 611 |
| All international | 8,989 | 885 | 9.8% | 693 |
| Total | 23,329 | 3,891 | 16.7% | 3,302 |
A UK applicant is a little over twice as likely to receive an offer as an international one.
Look at the EU row. At 7.3% it is the hardest pool in the table, and it is also the smallest and shrinking fastest.
Oxford publishes counts, not rates. Every percentage here is arithmetic on their published figures.
Which countries send the most applicants?
Oxford aggregates country data across three years. It says single-year figures for small groups are likely to give a misleading picture. These cover 2023 to 2025 combined.
| Country | Applications | Admitted | Admitted rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| China | 6,025 | 559 | 9.3% |
| United States | 2,891 | 202 | 7.0% |
| Singapore | 1,821 | 252 | 13.8% |
| India | 1,719 | 70 | 4.1% |
| Hong Kong | 1,267 | 150 | 11.8% |
| Canada | 864 | 52 | 6.0% |
| Germany | 752 | 51 | 6.8% |
| Malaysia | 593 | 37 | 6.2% |
| France | 560 | 40 | 7.1% |
Two things stand out.
The spread inside “international” is enormous. Singapore sits at 13.8%. India sits at 4.1%. That is more than a threefold difference between two countries in the same category. For a like-for-like comparison, the UK admitted rate in 2025 was 18.2%, so Singapore sits closer to the UK than it does to India.
The largest sender is not the most successful. China sends more than three times as many applicants as Singapore and admits roughly twice as many students, at a lower rate.
Across the same three years the UK sent 43,670 applications and had 7,781 students admitted.
Is the gap widening?
Not in the direction most people assume.
Since 2021 the share of admitted students who are UK-domiciled has fallen, from 81.6% to 79.0%. The non-EU share has risen, from 14.5% to 18.5%.
The EU has gone the other way. EU students made up 2.5% of those admitted in 2025, and EU applications fell to 6.0% of the total from 8.8% in 2021.
Oxford also flags one break in trend. After years of decline, non-EU applications rose in 2025, from 6,875 to 7,600.
So non-EU applicants are applying in greater numbers and taking a larger share of places than four years ago. The EU pool is shrinking on both measures.
Why is there a gap?
Oxford publishes two relevant facts.
It does not run nationality quotas. Oxford states it does not operate quotas or targets around the nationality or domicile of students admitted. The one exception is Medicine, which is subject to a government restriction on the number of students with international fee status admitted each year.
Its contextual data system covers UK applicants only. That system identifies applicants from disadvantaged backgrounds and strongly recommends them for interview shortlisting. It applies to students living in the UK who have been educated in the UK secondary school system: https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/applying/guide-for-applicants/decisions/contextual-information
The report sets out the numbers and the quota position. It does not set out a reason for the gap.
Does your course matter more than your country?
Course choice moves the odds by a wide margin too.
These are applicants per place across 2023 to 2025, all domiciles:
| Course | Applicants per place |
|---|---|
| Economics & Management | 18.8 |
| Computer Science | 14.8 |
| Biomedical Sciences | 12.0 |
| Mathematics | 10.4 |
| Mathematics & Computer Science | 10.3 |
| Law | 10.0 |
| Medicine | 9.4 |
| Physics | 9.0 |
| Biochemistry | 9.0 |
| Experimental Psychology | 8.6 |
Economics and Management runs at more than twice the pressure of Experimental Psychology. An international applicant to Economics and Management is stacking the harder pool on top of the harder course.
How should you use these numbers?
Knowing the rate changes nothing on its own. Here is what to do with it.
Pick the course before you worry about the country
Your domicile is fixed. Your course is not. Among Oxford’s most competitive courses alone, applicants per place run from 18.8 down to 8.6. Choose the course that genuinely fits you, then check where it sits on that table.
Check how your qualification converts, early
Oxford publishes exactly what it expects from every school system, country by country. US applicants need a specific number of APs at grade 5, sometimes with an SAT or ACT alongside. Read your own row before you assume you qualify: https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/courses/admissions-requirements/international-qualifications
We break down what that means in practice here: https://oxford-research.uk.com/what-gpa-do-you-need-for-oxford-or-cambridge
Treat the October test date as your real deadline
Most Oxford courses require an admissions test, and undergraduate applicants must sit the October window. There is no January alternative except for Astrophoria Foundation Year applicants. Booking closes on 28 September, weeks before the UCAS deadline: https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/applying/guide-for-applicants/admissions-tests
Build something the interview can be about
Oxford offers around 20,000 interviews to roughly 10,000 shortlisted candidates. Its guide states that decisions rest on your ability to think independently and engage with new ideas beyond your school syllabus: https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/applying/guide-for-applicants/interviews
High grades are near-universal among admitted students. Among UK students admitted in 2025, 87.2% held A*AA or better at A-level and 47.1% held three A* grades or better.
Do not read your country’s rate as a ceiling
A 4.1% admitted rate describes a pool of applicants, not an individual. Singapore and India sit in the same international category with a threefold gap between them, and both figures come from three years of aggregated data rather than from any rule Oxford applies.
The full international application process, start to finish: https://oxford-research.uk.com/how-to-get-into-oxford-international-students
Key Takeaways
- Oxford’s 2025 offer rate was 16.7% overall: 3,891 offers from 23,329 applications.
- Split by domicile, that is 21.0% for UK applicants and 9.8% for international applicants combined.
- The EU pool is hardest at 7.3%, and it is shrinking on both applications and places.
- Country spread inside “international” is wide. Singapore around 13.8%, India around 4.1%, across 2023 to 2025.
- The UK share of admitted students fell from 81.6% to 79.0% since 2021. The non-EU share rose from 14.5% to 18.5%.
- Non-EU applications rose in 2025, breaking a multi-year decline.
- Oxford operates no nationality quotas, except in Medicine where a government cap applies to international fee status.
- Oxford’s contextual data system applies only to UK-based, UK-educated applicants.
- Course choice compounds everything. Economics and Management runs at 18.8 applicants per place.
- Among UK students admitted in 2025, 87.2% held A*AA or better at A-level.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Oxford’s acceptance rate?
For 2025 entry, 16.7% of applicants received an offer and 14.2% were admitted, from 23,329 applications. Those are university-wide averages covering every domicile. Oxford has published the same breakdown annually for five years, so you can check whether a given year is typical rather than relying on a single figure.
Is the acceptance rate different for international students?
Yes, by roughly half. UK-domiciled applicants received offers at 21.0% in 2025. EU and non-EU applicants combined received offers at 9.8%. Within that, the EU pool is harder than the non-EU pool, at 7.3% against 10.3%. Oxford’s own report describes UK applicants as substantially more likely to receive an offer.
Which countries send the most applicants to Oxford?
Across 2023 to 2025 combined, China sent the most at 6,025 applications, followed by the United States, Singapore, India and Hong Kong. Success rates do not follow that order. Singapore was admitted at roughly 13.8% and India at roughly 4.1%, despite similar application volumes.
Does Oxford cap the number of international students?
No, with one exception. Oxford states it does not operate quotas or targets around the nationality or domicile of students admitted. Medicine is the exception, because it is subject to a government restriction on how many students with international fee status can be admitted each year. That restriction comes from government, not from Oxford.
Does a low acceptance rate for my country mean I should not apply?
It tells you the size of the pool you are in, not what you personally can achieve. The spread between countries in the same category is wide, and the figures are three-year aggregates rather than thresholds Oxford applies. What it should change is your planning: your working number is your country’s, not the headline.
Are these offer rates or admitted rates?
Both appear above, and they are different. The domicile table gives offer rates, because Oxford publishes applications, offers and admissions for each group. The country table gives admitted rates, because Oxford publishes country data only as applications and students admitted. Where the post compares the two, it says which measure it is using.
Where do these numbers come from?
Oxford’s Annual Admissions Statistical Report 2026, published in July 2026, covering admissions years 2021 to 2025. Oxford publishes counts rather than percentages, so the rates in this post are arithmetic on their figures: https://www.ox.ac.uk/about/the-university/facts-and-figures/admissions-statistics/undergraduate/current
Conclusion
The 16.7% figure is real. It is just not yours.
Applying from outside the UK, your working number is 9.8%, and narrower again once you account for where you are applying from and what you are applying for. An Indian applicant to Economics and Management faces a very different proposition from a Singaporean applicant to Experimental Psychology. The headline describes neither.
What does not change across any of those pools is the academic profile. Nearly nine in ten admitted UK students held A*AA or better. Grades get you considered. What you did beyond the syllabus is what tutors actually discuss with you in December.
OCAR pairs high school students with Oxbridge and Ivy League mentors to build exactly that kind of independent work before an application is due: https://oxford-research.uk.com/what-is-ocar
Planning your year around the deadlines? https://oxford-research.uk.com/oxbridge-application-timeline-month-by-month
Preparing for the interview? https://oxford-research.uk.com/how-to-prepare-for-an-oxford-or-cambridge-interview