Foreign students make up nearly half the student population of the University of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, latest statistics show.

The university currently houses a record number of 17699 students of which 8203 (46%) of them are of foreign origin.

The growing foreign student population is attributed to the large number of foreigners residing in the UAE. The university's foreign student population consists of more than 90 different nationalities.

National students comprise 53.6 percent of the student population.

There are more female than male students at the university. The figures put the number of female students at 11455 while male students at 6244.

The number of faculty is put at 717. There are 509 male faculty, and 208 female faculty at the university. The faculty come from 53 different countries. The university currently has only 42 national faculty.

The university's foreign faculty members come from 53 different countries.

The university has 14 colleges, three research institutes, and 75 different research groups, the figures show.

The university has a list of more than 60 alumni occupying high positions in various walks of life in the UAE.