The UAE is the fourth most expensive country for foreigners to study and live in with the students spending sums equivalent to about 51 per cent of the GDP per person, or nearly $28,000 per year, according to a report.

International students looking to study and live in the emirtes continue to pay among the highest premiums in the world, reported the Gulf News citing a recent HSBC study.

The average annual fees and cost of living for foreign students in the UAE, at $21,371 and $6,004, respectively, put the country’s overall education cost ahead those of Canada, Singapore, Japan and Germany, it stated.

Interestingly, the living expense is one of the cheapest among most developed and emerging markets, after China, Taiwan and Germany, but the high university fees pushed the UAE to the top of the table, the report added.

According to the report, the country's annual fees is the world's third most expensive trumping other major markets including the UK.