The Hong Kong Polytechnic University — Key Statistics at a Glance

Module:00 Overview · Sub-file: Key Numbers (key-numbers) This page collates core operational statistics for The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Unless otherwise noted, the primary source is the official PolyU in Figures 2022–2023 snapshot (published by PolyU's Institutional Planning and Analytics Office, IPAO); certain institutional and campus project figures have been updated to 2025–2026. Note on methodology: Different sources (official statistics vs. Wikipedia infoboxes vs. individual faculty pages) compile data such as "total student enrolment" or "staff headcount" under varying definitions (whether or not branch campuses, affiliated colleges, overseas-awarded programmes, part-time vs. full-time status are included). This page juxtaposes the figures where possible, with years and sources clearly indicated. For a quick overview of PolyU's fundamental identity, leadership, and academic structure, see general-facts.md.

28,410, or 33,900? PolyU's total student enrolment depends on which official document you believe — which is precisely why this page exists: to lay out, side by side and with full transparency, the figures scattered across different publications that refuse to align with one another.

---

# 1. Students (2022/23 Official Figures)

Postgraduate tiers — research postgraduates (MPhil/PhD), taught postgraduates, and professional doctorates — together with their geographical distributions, are presented on the same page of PolyU in Figures 2022–2023 under "By Level of Study and Place of Origin". The breakdown of non-local undergraduates from mainland China, Macao/Taiwan, and other regions is also listed there. None of the above figures include students at branch campuses, affiliated colleges, or overseas-awarded programmes.

An alternative figure: the Wikipedia infobox lists total student enrolment at around 33,900^※. The discrepancy with the official PolyU in Figures figure of 28,410 stems principally from differences in what is counted (the scope of inclusion). The two figures are presented alongside each other for reference.

# 2. Staff (2022/23 Official Figures)

Wikipedia lists 'academic staff' at approximately 1,569^※, which deviates from the official 'Academic/Teaching & Clinical' figure of 1,427 due to differing definitions (whether clinical, research-track, and other categories are included). Both are provided here for comparison.

# 3. Alumni and Graduates

Breakdowns of graduate employment and further study destinations (by faculty and degree level) are published in the "Graduates & Alumni" section of PolyU in Figures 2022–2023, drawing on data from the 2022 Graduate Employment Survey^※ (based on full-time graduates who responded to the survey).

# 4. Academic Structure and Programmes (from 2025)

• 7 Faculties: Business; Construction and Environment; Engineering; Health and Social Sciences; Humanities; Science; Computer and Mathematical Sciences (established 1 January 2025^※).
• 3 Schools: Design; Fashion and Textiles; Hotel and Tourism Management.
• The Faculty of Computer and Mathematical Sciences encompasses 3 departments (Applied Mathematics, Computing, and Data Science & AI), over 125 academic staff, and 390 researchers^※.

No medical school: Nursing, Medical Laboratory Science & Radiography, Rehabilitation Sciences, Optometry, and related disciplines fall under the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences. The contest for Hong Kong's third medical school was won by HKUST in November 2025 (see recent-developments-2020-2026.md).

The estimated distribution of students by faculty (calculated against the 2022/23 university-wide total of 28,410; unofficial, for indicative purposes only): Faculty of Business and Faculty of Health and Social Sciences each account for roughly 18–21%; Faculty of Engineering about 14–18%; Faculty of Computer and Mathematical Sciences and Faculty of Construction and Environment each around 9–12%; Faculty of Humanities about 7–11%; Faculty of Science about 5–9%; School of Design and School of Fashion and Textiles each roughly 4–5%; School of Hotel and Tourism Management about 5–7%. The definitive figures should be drawn from individual faculty websites and successive editions of PolyU in Figures.

# 5. Campus and Facilities

The PolyU Library (Pao Yue-kong Library) separately discloses its 2024/25 collection statistics: print volumes 1,100,513^※, e-books 8,117,470 titles^※, e-journals 255,412 titles^※, and databases 453^※, yielding a total collection of 10,284,711 items^※ (this count includes electronic resources and therefore exceeds the 2022/23 figure). There are some 2,000+ study seats across 7 serviced floors in the main Pao Yue-kong Library building.

# 6. Finances (2023/24)

The above financial figures correspond to the fiscal year ended 30 June 2024, as compiled by a third party; the definitive data should be sourced from PolyU's Annual Report or audited financial statements. Detailed financial information is available in Module 08.

# 7. Internationalisation and Research Scale (Composite)

• Research facilities: over 80 research laboratories, institutes, and centres^※.
• International partnerships: collaborations with more than 360 universities or institutions across over 40 countries/regions^※.
• Student exchange: PolyU in Figures 2022–2023 lists approximately 277 student exchange programme partners^※; outbound exchange to overseas/mainland China destinations for local students typically reaches around 1,500–2,000 person-trips per year (estimate by the Global Engagement Office); international students hail from over 60 countries/regions.

# 8. Key Research Metrics (2020–2025 Composite)

PolyU's research enterprise has expanded markedly in recent years:

Methodology corrections and single-source caveats: ① The "cumulative start-ups nurtured" figure uses the UGC Knowledge Transfer Annual Report (2021/22) metric of 452, superseding the previous version's "over 1,500" — which lacked official provenance and has been deleted. ② The characterisation of "externally competitive research funding at roughly the HK$1 billion per annum scale" is an order-of-magnitude directional statement, not an official precise figure: this site has not identified a single directly citable "total annual external research funding" figure in PolyU's audited annual reports; search results predominantly yielded individual grant scheme amounts (e.g., the four RGC schemes totalling approximately HK$101 million in 2023/24). The precise figures should be verified against PolyU's Annual Report.

Comparing successive editions of the official PolyU in Figures and annual reports, the decade from 2012/13 to 2022/23 saw full-time student numbers rise from roughly 18,000 to 23,670^※ (approx. +32%, rough estimate); cumulative alumni rose from approximately 250,000 to 402,211^※ (approx. +61%, rough estimate); and the total library collection grew from around 5 million items to 9.027 million^※ (nearly doubled). All 2012/13 reference figures are rough/directional estimates (not verified against that specific year's publication, indicating trend magnitudes only). Exact figures should be sourced from the corresponding annual edition of PolyU in Figures.

# 9. Non-local Student Composition (UGC Official Figures, 2023/24)

Based on Annex 1 of a written reply to the Legislative Council dated 20 November 2024, "No. of Local and Non-local Students in UGC-funded Programmes in the 2023/24 Academic Year" (full-time equivalent, FTE):

Undergraduate Programmes

Research Postgraduates (RPg) — the non-local proportion far exceeds that of undergraduates: local students 191 (14.0%)^※; non-local total (predominantly from mainland China) 1,171 (86.0%)^※.

All Levels Combined (UG + TPG + RPG): Local 13,606 (76.8%)^※; Non-local 4,116 (23.2%)^※.

Policy Correction: An earlier version of this section stating "cap on non-local students at 20%" is outdated. According to LegCo documents, the cap on non-local enrolment at UGC-funded institutions was doubled from 20% to 40%^※ starting from the 2024/25 academic year (announced in the 2023 Policy Address); the 2025 Policy Address further announced plans to raise the cap from 40% to 50%^※. The above caps apply only to non-local places beyond the locally funded student allocation, and do not apply to RPg programmes.

# 10. Sustainability and Employment Indicators

Employment rates and salary data are based on respondents to the graduate employment surveys (voluntary response, not the entire cohort), so selection bias effects apply. Significant variation exists across faculties and programmes. The above table presents university-wide summaries; for details, see Module 02 (Admissions and Outcomes).

# 11. Faculty-level Figures (Not Directly Additive)

Successive editions of the official PolyU in Figures (2012/13 to the present) are published by the PolyU Institutional Planning and Analytics Office^※, enabling year-on-year comparison of student, staffing, and financial trends. Individual faculties separately publish "Faculty at a Glance" self-reported figures (compiled under methodologies that differ from the university-wide count, and cannot be added together directly):

• Faculty of Health and Social Sciences (FHSS): Students 6,195 (UG 4,056; TPG 1,688; RPG 451)^※, Staff 1,889 (research/teaching/clinical 1,305)^※, Competitive External Funding over HK$94.31 million (Oct 2024–Sep 2025)^※.
• Faculty of Business (FB): Students 5,514 (2025/26 Semester 1; local 38.2%, non-local 61.8%)^※ (faculty-reported figure, cannot be combined with university-wide statistics).

# 12. Rankings at a Glance (2025–2027)

Methodologies differ across ranking systems; figures are not directly comparable across tables. For details, see World Rankings and Subject Rankings.

---

# Q&A: Common Questions on the Numbers

Q: Is the total student enrolment 28,410 or 33,900? Which one is correct? A: Both are correct, but they use different counting methods. The 28,410 figure comes from the official PolyU in Figures 2022–2023 and excludes affiliated colleges, overseas-awarded programmes, and certain categories of part-time students. The 33,900 figure from Wikipedia typically applies a broader scope (likely including students from SPEED / HKCC and other affiliated units). Choose the metric according to the context; presenting both figures side by side gives a fuller picture.

Q: How many libraries does PolyU have? A: The main library is the Pao Yue-kong Library. There are also smaller reading/resource points at Hotel ICON and certain off-campus sites, but the core collection is concentrated in the main library at Block L on the main campus.

Q: How is the "over 400,000 alumni" figure calculated? A: The 402,211 listed in PolyU in Figures 2022–2023 is the cumulative total of graduates from all programmes (including part-time, taught postgraduate, and continuing education programmes) since the institution was founded as the Hong Kong Polytechnic in 1972 — it is not exclusively full-time degree holders. This explains why the number is so much larger than the current student body.

Q: Does the "10.23-hectare campus area" include Hotel ICON? A: No. The 10.23 hectares refers to the main campus site in Hung Hom. Hotel ICON, located in Tsim Sha Tsui East, is accounted for separately. Several off-campus sites (Industrial Centre, Digital Media Centre, Ho Man Tin campus, etc.) are also excluded from the main campus area figure.

Q: How does PolyU's number of faculties compare with other Hong Kong universities? A: By a simple count of faculties, HKU has 10 (the most), CUHK has 9, and PolyU has 10 (7 faculties + 3 independent schools) — comparable to HKU. However, the definition and scale of a "faculty" varies from institution to institution; direct comparisons must account for these methodological nuances.

---

# Further Reading

Data cut-off: June 2026. The primary official source remains PolyU in Figures 2022–2023, with selected research and ranking data updated through 2025–2026. Where newer editions exist, the most recent PolyU in Figures from PolyU takes precedence.

---