Based on statistical analysis of the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) international student data from 1998 to 2014, we provide the first detailed analysis of UK international doctoral student data (and the gaps therein). We highlight missing and ambiguous data and develop the profiles of these students, with a particular focus on gender, discipline, destination university, source of funding and country of origin. We argue that the current marketized system of international higher education coupled with a national focus on equality has largely limited the social composition of international doctoral students to those who are: academically capable; and either financially able to pay international tuition fees and subsistence in the UK (for them and their families) or capable of securing overseas funding, primarily from national governments. We conclude by reflecting on the implications of this for the internationalisation of research and knowledge production.