Muscat – Muscat ranks sixth among ten Middle Eastern cities for international school fees, with a median annual cost of US$8,183 and a full range from US$1,195 to US$ 22,743.
According to a research by the International Schools Database for 2024, the Middle East is not the cheapest region in the world for international school costs, but it is one of the most consistent. The lowest median price in the region was Manama in Bahrain with US$6,220 per year, while Dubai-Sharjah-Ajman was the highest at US$10,883 – a difference of just over US$4,500. ‘This is broadly similar to the African region, where the difference between the highest and lowest median prices was just over US$4,000,’ stated the report.
Doha and Istanbul follow Dubai-Sharjah-Ajman with medians of US$10,111 and US$9,177 respectively. Abu Dhabi and Kuwait City occupy fourth and fifth places, at US$8,993 and US$8,844 per year.
Within Muscat, the first quartile fee sits at US$5,824 and the third quartile at US$11,852, indicating that half of all schools charge between these values. This interquartile range reflects the diversity of offerings from budget to premium institutions.
Cities in the mid-range include Riyadh (median US$8,122) and Limassol (US$7,755), while Amman stands as the second most affordable with a median of US$6,910.
The most expensive nations in the world for international education in 2024 were the United States, China and Switzerland.
Median prices in Switzerland ranged from US$24,000 to over US$30,000 per year. In China, median prices were between US$25,000 and US$35,000 per year. However, in the United States median prices ranged from almost US$26,000 to over US$44,000 per year. ‘In fact, New York City, which had a median price of US$44,600 per year, was not only the most expensive median price in our research. It was also the only median price above US$40,000 per year. There was quite a difference between that and the second most expensive median price – Beijing at US$35,621 per year was almost US$9,000 cheaper.’
