Exploring the countries that offer the most opportunities for gap year students

Many students have decided that taking a gap year is more appealing than spending the year studying in a pandemic.

The United Kingdom’s Department for Education and Skills estimates that 200-250,000 young people defer their studies a year and take a gap year instead. 

And with universities currently offering money to students who defer their courses, the demand is significantly higher than ever before.

Altitude Futures analysed gap year job listings around the world to find the countries that offer the most opportunities for those taking a year out.

The top 10 countries students visit during their gap years are:

• US
• Australia
• China
• Spain
• France
• South Africa
• Costa Rica
• Canada
• Thailand
• New Zealand

They also found the most popular roles across each continent:

The most common roles available to students taking gap years across the world were also revealed. 

Altitude Futures found that the top job opportunity available was adventure travel, making up 465 of the 1419 roles available across the world. 

Other popular options included ski and snowboard instructor roles, with 44 jobs on offer across the world. 

Yoga retreats were also available, making up 36 of the options for gap year seekers.  

Jon West, Altitude Futures Director said: “We’re so happy to see students are looking at deferring their courses and taking a gap year as there are so many benefits such as experiencing a different culture and developing new life skills.

“We’re hardly surprised to see that the top five countries students decide to visit for their gap year are the US, Australia, China, Spain and France as these are all countries that are also popular with tourists.

“We’re hoping to see more people wanting to explore their options for taking a gap year because yes it will look good on the CV and University application, but it also allows you to potentially travel the world or make an impact for the greater good!”