With New Zealand's economy officially in recession, one beacon of hope to boosting the country's GDP might lie in the unexpectedly quickened rate of international students crossing through the border.

For the first eight months of last year, more than 59,000 international students enrolled - a 43% increase on the previous full year. English Language Schools have had the greatest increase, up by 347% to surpass 7000.

Tertiary Education and Skills Minister, Penny Simmonds, told Newstalk ZB Plus that the number of students arriving on New Zealand shores has been at a "faster rate than anticipated" after border restrictions were put in place during the Covid-19 pandemic.

She pointed to research commissioned through Education New Zealand that found international education’s immediate direct financial contribution to New Zealand’s GDP was $3.7 billion in 2019. This reduced to $0.8b in 2022 because of border restrictions.

The research also looked at the longer-term economic contribution to New Zealand’s GDP, from the small portion of international students who stayed in New Zealand after completing their studies.

The amount contributed was $5.9b in 2019 and $6.1b in 2020.

With a large influx of international learners returning to New Zealand, the education sector’s contributions will be critical to improving the nation's GDP - which was confirmed today to have fallen 0.1 per cent in the December 2023 quarter, meaning New Zealand is now officially in recession after a .3 per cent third-quarter fall.

Simmonds said the country can afford to take more students and improve the economic benefit of their time studying abroad.

"The sector has told us clearly that they are willing and wanting to enrol more international students," she told ZB Plus.

"We want international students to have a good experience in New Zealand as this supports our reputation and helps attract future students. Part of this is ensuring that there is sufficient infrastructure to support them. This will be an important consideration as we develop and implement international education policy."

Simmonds called the number of international students arriving "encouraging", despite being affected by a wide range of factors beyond Government control such as international economic conditions and changing geopolitical landscapes.

"The demand that we are seeing currently shows that New Zealand has an education offering that is valued by international students."

Education New Zealand's Geoff Bilbrough told the Mike Hosking Breakfast this morning that students come to New Zealand looking for a safe place to live, a good quality education and a unique experience.

"They have a lot [of countries] to choose from all the way from Australia, Canada, America," he told Hosking.

"I think we're on a steady path, that's the goal. We've got to match the learners that we bring into New Zealand with the capacity of the sector, and the infrastructure around it."

New Zealand's education reputation has remained strong with overseas audiences as research this year showed the benefits international students bring to the country.

The research revealed 84% of international students rated their experience in New Zealand positively, and three quarters of Kiwis believe international students are an asset to our education system.