- The HEPI / Kaplan Soft-Power Index looks at the
number of very senior world leaders (monarchs, presidents and
prime ministers) who studied at a higher level in another
country.
- Countries that have educated a significant proportion of the
world's most senior leaders are thought to benefit from a boost
to their ‘soft power'.
- The results for the leading two countries, the US and the UK,
are broadly comparable to those for recent years but other
countries, like France and Germany, fare worse than in past years
while Russia and India have improved their position.
- For the first time, the results are being published according
to the institution that world leaders studied at. Harvard
University and the University of Oxford lead the pack, with
Sandhurst, the University of Cambridge, the LSE and the
University of Manchester making up the rest of the top 6.
When launching the Soft Power Council in early 2025, the UK's
then Foreign Secretary, the Rt Hon. MP, said, ‘Soft power is
fundamental to the UK's impact and reputation around the world. I
am often struck by the enormous love and respect which our music,
sport, education and institutions generate on every continent.'
The HEPI / Kaplan Soft-Power Index offers one way to
measure the extent of this soft power.
In 2025, the United States remains comfortably in first place, as
their higher education institutions have educated 66 senior world
leaders, which is only slightly lower than the US total for 2024
(68). The UK remains in a comfortable second place, having
educated 59 world leaders. France performs less well than in the
past but stays in third place, with 23 leaders.
The Index is based on a snapshot of world leaders for early
August 2025. Changes since then are not reflected in the data.
Since the Soft-Power Index was launched in 2017, 81
(42%) of the countries in the world have had at least one very
senior leader educated at a higher level in the UK. The
Index is regularly quoted by UK Government Ministers –
for example, last year's results featured in this week's Post-16 Education and
Skills white paper.
World leaders educated in countries other than their own
|
|
2017
|
2018
|
2019
|
2020
|
2021
|
2022
|
2023
|
2024
|
2025
|
|
US
|
57
|
58 (+1)
|
62 (+4)
|
61 (-1)
|
63 (+2)
|
66 (+3)
|
63 (-3)
|
68 (+5)
|
66 (-2)
|
|
UK
|
58
|
57 (-1)
|
59 (+2)
|
57 (-2)
|
59 (+2)
|
56 (-3)
|
58 (+2)
|
58 (--)
|
59 (+1)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
UK / US gap
|
-1
|
+1
|
+3
|
+4
|
+4
|
+10
|
+5
|
+10
|
+7
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
France
|
34
|
40 (+6)
|
40 (--)
|
34 (-6)
|
29 (-5)
|
30 (+1)
|
29 (-1)
|
27 (-2)
|
23 (-4)
|
|
Russia
|
9
|
10 (+1)
|
10 (--)
|
10 (--)
|
11 (+1)
|
11 (--)
|
10 (-1)
|
10 (--)
|
13 (+3)
|
|
Australia
|
9
|
9 (--)
|
9 (--)
|
10 (+1)
|
10 (--)
|
7 (-3)
|
6 (-1)
|
7 (+1)
|
9 (+2)
|
For the first time this year, the results are also being
published according to the institution that the leaders attended,
with Harvard (15) and Oxford (12) topping the tree.
Harvard alone has educated more senior world leaders than all
higher education institutions in Russia (13). Harvard has also
educated more senior world leaders than Italy (5), Spain (5) and
Germany (4) combined.
Key findings
- The strong performance of the United States represents the
country's second best ever total (equal with 2022 but slightly
down on 2024).
- In terms of absolute score, the UK matches the best it has
done since the Index began in 2017 (59), equalising the
record that was also hit in 2019 and 2021.
- France fares worse than in the past, with a big drop-off of
17 since 2019 from 40 to 23, but retains third place.
- Russia posts its best performance, with 13 world leaders
educated there, beating its previous high of 11 in 2022.
- Australia (9, +2) remains in fifth place, while Switzerland
is in sixth place (7, +1).
- India scores its best ever performance. In 2022, only two
serving very senior leaders had been educated to a higher level
in India; in 2025, five had been – this is the same total as for
Spain and also Italy.
- Germany drops out of the top 10 for the first time, having
educated just four serving world leaders, the same number as
Canada, Germany, Morocco, the Netherlands and South Africa – and
the same number as for the LSE alone.
- The higher education institution that has educated the most
current world leaders while they were international students is
Harvard University (15), closely followed by the University of
Oxford (13).
- Five of the six best-performing institutions are situated in
the UK, meaning world leaders educated in the UK tend to have
been concentrated in a smaller number of institutions. While
Harvard is the only US institution to have educated more than
three serving world leaders, the UK has five institutions that
have educated more than three: Oxford (13); Sandhurst (8);
Manchester (6); Cambridge (5); and the LSE (4).
Institutions attended by very senior world leaders
|
Ranking
|
Higher education institution
|
Number of world leaders
|
|
1
|
Harvard
|
15
|
|
2
|
Oxford
|
12
|
|
3
|
Sandhurst
|
8
|
|
4
|
Manchester
|
6
|
|
5
|
Cambridge
|
5
|
|
6
|
LSE
|
4
|
|
7=
|
Boston
|
3
|
|
7=
|
Bristol
|
3
|
|
7=
|
George Washington
|
3
|
|
7=
|
New York
|
3
|
|
7=
|
Pennsylvania
|
3
|
|
7=
|
UCL
|
3
|
|
7=
|
US Army Command and Staff College
|
3
|
The 15 world leaders educated at Harvard are: i) the Prime
Minister of Bhutan (Tshering Tobgay); ii) the President of
Botswana (Duma Boko); iii) the Prime Minister of Canada (Mark
Carney); iv) the King of Denmark (Frederik X); v) the President
of Ecuador (Daniel Noboa); vi) the Prime Minister of Greece
(Kyriakos Mitsotakis); vii) the Prime Minister of Israel
(Benjamin Netanyahu); viii) the Prime Minister of Jordan (Jafar
Hassan); ix) the Prime Minister of Lebanon (Nawaf Salam); x) the
Prime Minister of Luxembourg (Luc Frieden); xi) the President of
Moldova (Maia Sandu); xii) the Chief Minister of Sierra Leone
(David Moinina Sengeh); xiii) the President of Singapore (Tharman
Shanmugaratnam); xiv) the Prime Minister of Singapore (Lawrence
Wong); and xv) the Prime Minister of South Korea (Kim Min-seok).
The 12 world leaders educated at the University of Oxford are: i)
the King of Belgium (Philippe); ii) the King of Bhutan (Jigme
Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck); iii) the Prime Minister of Canada
(Mark Carney); iv) the President of East Timor (José
Ramos-Horta); v) the Prime Minister of Hungary (Viktor Orbán);
vi) the Emperor of Japan (Naruhito); vii) the King of Jordan
(Abdullah II); viii) the President of Montenegro (Jakov
Milatović); ix) the King of Norway (Harald V); x) the Sultan and
Prime Minister of Oman (Haitham bin Tariq); xi) the President of
the Philippines (Bongbong Marcos); and xii) the Prime Minister of
the Solomon Islands (Jeremiah Manele).
OBE, the Director of HEPI,
said:
‘International students bring enormous benefits to the UK. They
all spend money while they are here and some then contribute to
the UK labour market after studying. The diplomatic benefits are
less well understood even though they can be equally important.
In 2025, over a quarter of the countries around the world have a
very senior leader educated in the UK, which amounts to
tremendous soft power.
‘The current UK Government have established a Soft Power Council
and promised a new education exports strategy. These are welcome,
but they are counterbalanced by the incoming levy on
international students, huge dollops of negative rhetoric and
excessive visa costs.
‘Recent new obstacles standing in the way of people wanting to
study in Australia, Canada and the United States provide an
opportunity for the UK to steal a march on our main competitors.
We are at risk of squandering this opportunity.'
Linda Cowan, Managing Director of Kaplan International
Pathways, said:
‘It is fantastic to see how many of our best known universities
are educating foreign leaders. This year's list also highlights
the growing diversity and range of institutions contributing to
the UK's soft power, including Cranfield, Leicester, Liverpool
and Westminster.
‘Another trend to watch is the expansion of transnational
campuses of British universities abroad, such as in India and the
UAE. These initiatives have the potential to further enhance the
UK's soft power by extending the reach of our higher education
sector beyond students coming to the UK – a development to watch
going forward.'
Professor Duncan Ivison, the President and
Vice-Chancellor of the University of Manchester, said:
‘If soft power is fundamental to the UK's impact and reputation
around the world, then so too are the UK's outstanding
universities.
‘The HEPI / Kaplan Soft-Power Index makes clear just how
important international students are to the UK's global influence
– both now and into the future. Extraordinary future leaders get
their start at many of our universities and retain a deep
affection for our country long after. And yet the Government is,
at the same time, putting up obstacles to welcoming future
international students to the UK with a proposed international
levy, higher visa costs and reducing the graduate visa route.
‘We have a once in a lifetime opportunity to make the UK the
global destination for the best and the brightest in the world
given what is happening elsewhere – and especially in the US and
Canada. Let's not blow it.'
The 59 leaders educated in the UK lead 55 countries (as a small
number of places – Bahrain, Luxembourg, Namibia and the United
Arab Emirates have two very senior leaders educated in the UK).
Changes affecting the UK list for 2025 are outlined in the table
below. They include:
- The Rt Hon. Mark Carney, the Prime Minister of Canada since
early 2025, studied Economics at the University of Oxford.
- Taye Atske Selassie, the President of Ethiopia since late
2024, studied International Relations and Strategic Studies at
Lancaster University.
- The President, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, and Prime Minister,
Elijah Ngurare, of Namibia, who have both been in post since
early 2025, studied in the UK – the Namibian President studied at
Glasgow Caledonian University as well as Keele University and the
Prime Minister studied at University of Dundee.
- The Prime Minister of Rwanda since July 2025, Justin
Nsengiyumva, studied Economics at the University of Leicester.
- The Prime Minister of Sri Lanka since autumn 2024, Harini
Amarasuriya, studied Social Anthropology at the University of
Edinburgh.
List of countries with at least one senior leader educated in
the UK, with the name(s) of the relevant serving leader(s), 2017
to 2025
|
Countries in green are where there has been a change
since 2025. Countries in grey have been led by someone
educated in the UK since 2017 but were not in August
2025.
|
|
|
2017
|
2018
|
2019
|
2020
|
2021
|
2022
|
2023
|
2024
|
2025
|
|
1. Antigua and Barbuda (Gaston Browne)
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
|
Armenia
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
Australia
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
2. and 3. Bahrain (Sheikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa &
Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa)
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
|
4. Barbados (Mia Mottley)
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
|
5. Belgium (King Philippe)
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
|
6. Bhutan (Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck)
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
|
7. Bolivia (Luis Arce)
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
|
Bosnia and Herzegovina
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
Botswana
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
8. Brunei (Hassanal Bolkiah)
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
|
Burma
|
2
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
9. Cambodia (Hun Manet)
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
|
10. Cameroon (Joseph Ngute)
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
|
*NEW ENTRY* 11. Canada (Mark Carney)
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
|
Columbia
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
Costa Rica
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
12. Cyprus (Nicos Anastasiades)
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
|
13. Czechia (Petr Pavel)
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
|
Denmark
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
|
14. Dominica (Sylvanie Burton)
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
|
15. East Timor (José Ramos-Horta)
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
|
16. Egypt (Abdel Fattah el-Sisi)
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
|
*NEW ENTRY* 17. Ethiopia (Taye Atske Selassie)
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
|
18. Fiji (Sitiveni Rabuka)
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
|
19. Finland (Alexander Stubb)
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
|
20. The Gambia (Adama Barrow)
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
|
*DEPARTURE* Ghana
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
|
21. Guyana (Mark Phillips)
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
|
22. Hungary (Viktor Orbán)
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
|
23. Iceland (Halla Tómasdóttir)
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
|
Iran
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
24. Iraq (Abdul Latif Rashid)
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
|
25. Ireland (Michael D Higgins)
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
|
Italy
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
26. Japan (Emperor Naruhito)
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
|
*ONE DEPARTURE* 27. Jordan (King Abdullah II)
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
1
|
|
Kuwait
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
|
Lebanon
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
28. Lesotho (King Letsie III)
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
|
29. Liechtenstein (Hereditary Prince Alois)
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
|
30. and 31. Luxembourg (Grand Duke Henri and Luc Frieden)
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
2
|
|
Malawi
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
Malaysia
|
2
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
|
32. The Maldives (Mohamed Muizzu)
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
|
Malta
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
|
*CHANGES* 33. Mauritius (Navin Ramgoolam)
|
2
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
1
|
|
34. Monaco (Prince Albert II)
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
|
35. Montenegro (Jakov Milatović)
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
|
*DEPARTURE* Mozambique
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
|
*NEW ENTRIES* 36. and 37. Namibia (Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah
and Elijah Ngurare)
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
2
|
|
Nepal
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
Nigeria
|
2
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
38. Norway (King Harald V)
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
|
39. Oman (Haitham bin Tariq)
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
|
40. Pakistan ( Zardari)
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
|
Palestine
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
|
Peru
|
2
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
41. Philippines (Bongbong Marcos)
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
|
42. Qatar (Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani)
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
|
*NEW ENTRY* 43. Rwanda (Justin Nsengiyumva)
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
|
44. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (Ralph Gonsalves)
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
|
Serbia
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
|
45. Seychelles (Wavel Ramkalawan)
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
|
46. Sierra Leone (Julius Maada Bio)
|
0
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
|
47. Singapore (Tharman Shanmugaratnam)
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
|
48. Slovakia (Robert Fico)
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
|
49. Slovenia (Nataša Pirc Musar)
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
|
50. Solomon Islands (Jeremiah Manele)
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
|
*NEW ENTRY* 51. Sri Lanka (Harini Amarasuriya)
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
|
Somalia
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
Sudan
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
52. Switzerland (Karin Keller-Sutter)
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
|
*DEPARTURE* Syria
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
|
53. Tanzania (Samia Suluhu Hassan)
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
|
54. Thailand (Paetongtarn Shinawatra)
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
|
*CHANGE* 55. Tonga (King Tupou VI)
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
1
|
|
Tuvalu
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
56. and 57. United Arab Emirates (Mohamed bin Zayed Al
Nahyan & Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum)
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
|
58. Vanuatu (Nikenike Vurobaravu)
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
|
Yemen
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
59. Zambia (Hakainde Hichilema)
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
|
TOTAL
|
58
|
57
|
59
|
56
|
58
|
56
|
58
|
58
|
59
|
The 66 world leaders from 58 countries educated in the United
States head the following countries:
Bahrain (2); Bangladesh; Belgium; Belize; Bhutan (2); Botswana;
Bulgaria; Cambodia; Canada; Costa Rica; Denmark; Dominica;
Dominican Republic; East Timor; Ecuador; Egypt; Finland; Greece;
Guinea-Bissau; Guyana; Haiti (2); Iceland (2); Ireland; Israel
(2); Ivory Coast; Jordan (2); Kuwait; Latvia; Lebanon; Liberia;
Luxembourg; Malawi; Malaysia; Marshall Islands; Micronesia;
Moldova; Monaco; Montenegro; Namibia; Nigeria; Palau; Palestine;
Panama; Paraguay; Philippines; Rwanda; Saint Kitts and Nevis;
Sierra Leone (2); Singapore (2); Slovenia; Somalia; South Korea;
Spain; Sudan; Switzerland; Togo; Tonga; and Vatican City.
For further information, please contact on 07730
718247 / n.hillman@hepi.ac.uk
or Elizabeth Hess, Executive Director (Communications),
at Kaplan on 07983 435705 / elizabeth.hess@kaplan.com.
Notes for Editors
- Leaders are defined as heads of
state and heads of government (monarchs, presidents and prime
ministers). Countries often have more than one (such as a
president or monarch and a prime minister).
- Countries are included if they are
members of, or observers at, the United Nations, currently
numbering 195 places. Palestine is therefore included but
Northern Cyprus, for example, is not.
- The HEPI / Kaplan Soft-Power
Index is a measure of tertiary education. This is defined
broadly but distance learning and transnational education are
excluded for the soft-power benefits are thought to be less.
- Leaders change throughout the year,
so we provide a snapshot for August 2025. For example, the
fieldwork was undertaken prior to the recent change of leadership
in Thailand.
- Each country is treated equally and
we do not claim each individual result provides good evidence of
positive soft power. No one is excluded on moral
grounds.
- Some people are educated in more
than one other country and they can therefore count towards the
totals for more than one country.
- While we use multiple sources to
obtain information, the educational background of some national
leaders is opaque. HEPI welcomes feedback that would enable us to
build up a more complete picture.
- When new information comes to
light, we update the figures. So there are some slight
differences in the figures provided here for earlier years
compared with what we have published in the past. For example, in
the preparation of the 2025 numbers, we found new information
that reduced the recent past total for the US (as we discovered
two leaders were distance learners rather than in-person
learners).
- King Charles III's higher education
was delivered in the UK (at the University of Cambridge), the
country where he was born and lives, and he is head of state of
other countries in part by virtue of his position in the UK. So
we have opted to exclude this information. This matches how we
treat the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, who is one of the
heads of state (Co-Prince) of Andorra.
- The University of the West Indies
(UWI) serves 18 countries and territories in the Caribbean.
Attempting to unpick the place of study for those world leaders
who studied at the UWI is beyond the scope of this study.
Therefore, we have assumed that each one studied in their home
nation. This is the same practice as followed in earlier years.
