Sharjah Is Becoming the World’s Next Great Education Destination 

— Backed by L.E.K. Consulting Research, Presented at the Sharjah International Summit on Improvement in Education 2026

There’s a particular kind of confidence that comes from choosing well — not loudly, not flashily, but deliberately. The parent who researches twelve schools before deciding. The investor who studies a market for two years before committing. The policymaker who builds a regulatory framework not for today’s headline but for the next decade’s reality.

Sharjah has been making that kind of quiet, deliberate choice for years. And in 2026, the rest of the world is finally catching up to what those choices have built.

According to new research by L.E.K. Consulting — one of the world’s leading global strategy consultancies — Sharjah’s K-12 education sector has reached 251,000 enrolled students, with 83% of them in private schools. Since 2019, private enrollment has grown at a compound annual growth rate of 3.3%. The international curriculum segment is growing even faster at 3.6%. The premium fee tier — schools charging between AED 40,000 and AED 60,000 annually — is recording the fastest expansion of all.

These are not projections. These are not aspirational targets. These are the numbers of a market that has already arrived.

Why This Research Matters 

Before diving into what the data reveals, it’s worth pausing on who produced it.

L.E.K. Consulting has been advising the world’s most consequential businesses and institutions since 1983. Their Global Education Practice works with investors, operators, and policymakers across every major education market on earth — from established systems in Europe and North America to the fast-moving, high-growth markets of Asia-Pacific and the Middle East. When L.E.K. publishes research on the education market, the global investment community listens.

These findings were presented at a pre-conference workshop during the Sharjah International Summit on Improvement in Education 2026 — itself one of the region’s most significant gatherings of education leaders, regulators, and investors. The workshop was delivered in partnership with the Sharjah Education Academy and in collaboration with the Sharjah Private Education Authority, bringing together senior figures from across the sector to examine what the data actually means for the future of education in the emirate.

Ashwin Assomull, Partner and Head of the Global Education Practice at L.E.K. Consulting, put it plainly: “Sharjah offers a compelling combination of a growing private K-12 market, strong demographic demand, and a supportive regulatory environment, creating a scalable, long-term opportunity for investors. With private schools already representing the majority of enrolment, the market is well positioned for continued expansion.”

When a partner at L.E.K. uses the phrase “scalable, long-term opportunity,” that is not marketing language. That is a considered, evidence-based conclusion from a firm whose entire reputation rests on the accuracy of exactly those assessments.

Why Sharjah?

The Art Of Strategic Choices 

Dubai has the skyline. Abu Dhabi has the sovereign wealth. So why are serious education investors, operators, and increasingly families, turning their attention to Sharjah?

The answer is structural — and it comes down to three things that rarely exist together in the same market at the same time.

First: a demographic engine that doesn’t stop.

Approximately 90% of Sharjah’s population is expatriates. This single fact is the foundation of everything. Expatriate families, by definition, seek private schooling — they are not tied to public systems, they prioritize educational quality and curriculum familiarity, and they make school choice one of their most deliberate family decisions. Add to this that the 4–18 age cohort represents approximately 17.5% of Sharjah’s population, and you have a market that renews itself constantly, predictably, and at scale. This isn’t a trend that can reverse. It’s the fundamental composition of who lives here and why.

Second: a regulatory environment built for confidence.

Full foreign ownership of private education institutions is permitted in Sharjah. Read that again — full foreign ownership. In a region where market entry terms vary dramatically and regulatory clarity is often cited as the primary barrier to investment, Sharjah’s position is exceptional. Regulated fee increases provide income predictability for operators. Favorable visa provisions make long-term planning possible for families and institutions alike. This is a framework designed not just to attract investment, but to retain it.

Third: room to grow that Dubai no longer has.

This is the conversation that happens behind closed doors, but rarely in public. Dubai’s private education market is sophisticated, competitive, and in many segments — saturated. New entrants face established operators with deep roots, premium real estate costs, and fierce competition for enrollment. Sharjah offers what mature markets cannot: genuine white space. The market is growing, the demographics are favorable, the regulations are clear, and the competition, while increasing, has not yet reached the density that compresses margins and limits differentiation.

For investors, this is the window. For families, this translates to schools that are still building their identities — which means real choice, real competition for quality, and institutions that are genuinely motivated to earn your child’s enrollment every year.

Beyond Numbers, statistics…its indicators 

Numbers in press releases exist to impress. Numbers in L.E.K. research exist to inform. Let’s make sure we’re doing the latter.

251,000 students in K-12 education in a single emirate is a significant market. For context, this is not a nascent ecosystem trying to establish itself — this is a mature, functioning, growing education economy with the infrastructure, the regulatory framework, and the demographic pipeline to sustain expansion for years to come.

The 83% private school penetration rate is the figure that should stop investors in their tracks. In most markets globally, private school penetration sits between 15% and 30%. Even in highly developed markets with strong private sector traditions, 83% is extraordinary. What it means in practice is that private schooling in Sharjah is not a luxury add-on to the public system — it is the system. The families choosing private schools here are not doing so because public provision is inadequate. They are doing so because private education is the established, expected, culturally embedded norm. That creates a demand base that is structurally resilient in ways that markets with lower private penetration simply are not.

The Four Tiers 

And Why Premium Is Winning

Not all private schools are the same, and understanding Sharjah’s pricing landscape reveals something important about the market’s direction.

L.E.K.’s research identifies four distinct fee segments in Sharjah’s private K-12 sector. Across these tiers, demand is present and growing at every level — but the fastest growth is happening at the top.

The premium segment, schools charging between AED 40,000 and AED 60,000 annually, is recording the highest growth rate of any pricing tier. This is significant because it tells a story about aspiration, not just affordability. Sharjah’s families — and the expatriate community that drives the majority of private school demand — are not simply seeking adequate education. They are actively seeking exceptional education, and they are willing to pay for it.

For investors and operators, this signals an opportunity that goes beyond filling seats. The families who choose premium schools are the most engaged, the most loyal, and the most vocal advocates for institutions they believe in. They are also the least price-sensitive when quality justifies cost. Building or operating in the premium segment in Sharjah today means entering a growing market at the tier where growth is fastest and where the long-term value of a well-built reputation is highest.

For parents, this trajectory of premium growth is a signal of something equally important: Sharjah is a place where educational ambition is rewarded. The market is responding to families who want more — and that creates a virtuous cycle of rising quality standards that benefits every student in the ecosystem.

International Curriculum

The Segment Defining the Future

Within Sharjah’s private school landscape, the international curriculum segment deserves particular attention. Growing at 3.6% — faster than the overall private sector average — this segment reflects a global shift in how families think about education.

International curricula — British, American, International Baccalaureate, and others — offer something that national curricula, however excellent, cannot: portability. For expatriate families who may move between countries, for Emirati families who plan to send children abroad for higher education, and for any family that understands the increasingly borderless nature of professional life and opportunity, an internationally recognized qualification is not a preference. It is a strategic decision.

The growth of this segment in Sharjah suggests that families are not only choosing private education — they are choosing internationally recognized private education. They are thinking about where their child will study at university, where they will work, and what doors they want open for them. That level of intentionality in the parent base creates exactly the kind of engaged, committed enrollment that high-quality international schools need to thrive.

A Market Built to Last

What Investors Need to Know

For anyone considering entering Sharjah’s education market — whether as a school operator, a real estate investor developing educational facilities, a private equity firm evaluating the sector, or a group building a multi-school platform — the structural picture is unusually clear.

Demand is not speculative. It is demographic. The expatriate population that drives private school enrollment is not a transient phenomenon — it is the established, long-term composition of Sharjah’s population. The 4–18 age cohort that feeds K-12 enrollment is not declining. The regulatory environment has been deliberately constructed to support long-term investment, not short-term transactions.

The CAGR figures from L.E.K.’s research — 3.3% overall, 3.6% in international curricula — represent sustained, consistent growth over a six-year period that included global disruption of significant magnitude. That these numbers held through the years they did is itself a statement about the resilience of the underlying demand.

Full foreign ownership is the regulatory detail that changes the calculus for international operators entirely. It removes the need for local partnership arrangements that complicate governance, dilute returns, and create strategic misalignment. It allows international education groups to enter, operate, and scale in Sharjah under the same frameworks they use at home. That is a genuinely rare provision in this region, and its significance should not be underestimated.

 What This All Means for Your Child

If you are a parent reading this and you have filtered through the investment language to ask the question that actually matters to you — is Sharjah a good place to educate my child? — Then here is the honest answer.

A market growing at this rate, with this level of private investment, with this regulatory commitment to quality and fee transparency, and with this concentration of internationally accredited institutions, is a market that is competing for your child’s enrollment in the best possible way. Competition drives quality. Investment drives resources. Regulatory oversight drives accountability.

The premium segment’s growth means new schools are being built, existing schools are being expanded and upgraded, and the overall standard of what is available to your family is rising. The international curriculum segment’s growth means the choices available to you are becoming more diverse, more sophisticated, and more aligned with global educational standards.

Choosing Sharjah for your child’s education in 2026 is not a compromise. It is increasingly, and with each passing year, more demonstrably, the right call.

Frequently Asked Questions

What makes Sharjah’s K-12 education market attractive for investors compared to other UAE emirates? Sharjah’s combination of 83% private school penetration, full foreign ownership rights, a regulated fee increase framework, and a demographically driven demand base creates conditions that are genuinely rare in a single market. Dubai offers scale and prestige but comes with higher entry costs and a more saturated competitive landscape. Abu Dhabi offers government backing and stability, but different regulatory dynamics. Sharjah offers growth trajectory, regulatory clarity, and white space — a combination that L.E.K. Consulting’s research identifies as a scalable, long-term investment opportunity.

How has enrollment grown since 2019, and is that growth sustainable? Private K-12 enrollment has grown at a CAGR of 3.3% since AY2019, reaching 251,000 students in AY2025. The international curriculum segment has grown slightly faster at 3.6% over the same period. Sustainability is underpinned by structural factors — approximately 90% of Sharjah’s population are expatriates, the 4–18 age cohort represents roughly 17.5% of the population, and demand for private schooling among expatriate families is culturally embedded and consistent. These are not cyclical drivers — they are demographic realities.

What does full foreign ownership mean practically for an international school operator? It means an international operator can enter the Sharjah private education market, establish and run a school, and maintain 100% ownership without requiring a local Emirati partner or sponsor. This is significant because it preserves governance control, protects the institutional model and educational philosophy, and aligns financial returns entirely with the operating entity. For international education groups accustomed to operating under full ownership in their home markets, it removes the single most common structural barrier to GCC market entry.

Which curriculum is growing fastest in Sharjah and why? The international curriculum segment as a whole is growing at 3.6% CAGR — outpacing the broader private school average of 3.3%. Within that, British and IB curricula tend to command the strongest premium positioning. The growth reflects a parent population that is internationally mobile, globally oriented, and focused on university outcomes in the UK, US, Canada, and Australia. For operators, this signals that internationally accredited curriculum delivery is not just a differentiator — it is becoming the expectation.

What is the fee landscape in Sharjah’s private school sector? L.E.K. Consulting’s research identifies four distinct pricing tiers across Sharjah’s private K-12 market. The premium segment — schools charging between AED 40,000 and AED 60,000 per annum — is currently recording the fastest growth of any tier. This reflects increasing parental willingness to invest in quality education and suggests that the market’s overall fee trajectory is moving upward. Regulated fee increases provide income predictability for operators while maintaining affordability oversight for families.

Is Sharjah’s education market suitable for families who may relocate after a few years? Particularly so. The concentration of international curriculum schools — and their continued growth — means students can transition between Sharjah’s schools and institutions globally with minimal academic disruption. British, American, and IB qualifications are recognized worldwide. The breadth of curriculum options also means families relocating to Sharjah from almost any country will find a school environment their children can transition into comfortably.

The City That Did the Work

The most interesting education markets in the world are rarely the ones making the most noise. They are the ones doing the work — building the infrastructure, refining the regulation, attracting the investment, raising the standards — year after year, without waiting for the world to notice.

Sharjah has been doing that work.

The 251,000 students enrolled today are not an accident. The 83% private school penetration is not a coincidence. The regulatory framework that permits full foreign ownership and governs fee increases with transparency is not something that happened overnight. These are the results of deliberate, sustained decisions made by an emirate that understood what it wanted to become — and built toward it.

L.E.K. Consulting’s research, presented to the world’s education investors and leaders at the Sharjah International Summit on Improvement in Education 2026, does not predict this future. It documents a present that has already arrived.

For investors, the question is no longer whether Sharjah’s education market is worth entering. It is whether you can still afford to wait.

For families, the question is even simpler. Your child deserves an education in a place that takes education seriously. The numbers say Sharjah qualifies. The schools being built and expanded right now say the best is still ahead.

Every extraordinary story has an ordinary beginning. In Sharjah’s case, that beginning was a decision to build something real — and the extraordinary part is already here.