In the academic year 2023/24, there were 331,602 international students from India studying in the United States. International students The majority of international students studying in the United States are originally from India and China, totaling 331,602 students and 277,398 students respectively in the 2023/24 school year. In 2022/23, there were 467,027 international graduate students , which accounted for over one third of the international students in the country. Typically, engineering and math & computer science programs were among the most common fields of study for these students. The United States is home to many world-renowned schools, most notably, the Ivy League Colleges which provide education that is sought after by both foreign and local students. International students and college Foreign students in the United States pay some of the highest fees in the United States, with an average of 24,914 U.S. dollars. American students attending a college in New England paid an average of 14,900 U.S. dollars for tuition alone and there were about 79,751 international students in Massachusetts . Among high-income families, U.S. students paid an average of 34,700 U.S. dollars for college, whereas the average for all U.S. families reached only 28,026 U.S. dollars. Typically, 40 percent of families paid for college tuition through parent income and savings, while 29 percent relied on grants and scholarships.

New York University had around 24,496 international students studying there in the academic year of 2022/23, making it the most popular university for international students in the United States. NYU was followed by Northeastern University, with 20,637 international students, and by Columbia University, which hosted 19,001 international students.

The United States was the top host destination for international students worldwide. In 2022, around 1,057,200 students were enrolled in higher education in the U.S.. Furthermore, more than 718,000 and 660,000 international students enrolled in the United Kingdom and Canada, respectively.

In 2018, students from 196 different countries and regions were studying in China. The highest number of students came from South Korea amounting to 50,600, while only 20,996 students came from the United States.

International students in China

The total number of foreign students in China increased steadily over recent years and reached more than 490,000 in 2018. That was roughly double as much as ten years ago and made China one of the leading host destinations for international students. Looking at their origins in terms of global regions reveals that by far the largest share of students come from Asia, while the Americas and Europe together accounted for only slightly more than 22 percent of all students in 2018. While the share of students from Western countries has been shrinking steadily in recent years, more and more students from Asia and Africa were attracted to study in China. Regarding the United States, the figures interestingly not only decreased in relation to other regions, but also in total numbers. In contrast, students particularly from Africa are increasingly able and willing to study in China, and numbers from countries participating in China's Belt and Road Initiative displayed the highest growth rates over recent years.

Student situation

Regarding the financial situation of international students in China, most of them were either self-funded or receiving a scholarship from foreign institutions. However, the number of students supported by the Chinese government increased considerably over the last ten years, with a growing number of scholarships granted to students from developing countries. Preferred universities for study were either located in the two most developed cities Beijing and Shanghai, or in the eastern and southern coastal regions of China.

In 2022, Canada had the greatest amount of international students compared to their entire higher education population with nearly 40 percent of students being international. Australia followed with a share of 31 percent of the students being international, while the United Kingdom ranked third.

There were 1,057,188 international students studying in the United States in the 2022/23 academic year. This is an increase from the previous year, when 948,519 international students were studying in the United States.

There were 157,281 international students studying business management in the United States in the academic year of 2022/23. The most popular field of study for international students in that year was math and computer science, with 240,230 enrolled international students.

In 2023, approximately 115.49 thousand students from China were registered in Japanese educational institutions, followed by more than 37.88 thousand students from Nepal. Students from China and Nepal made up more than 50 percent of all foreign students during that year.

As per the results of a survey across India in academic year 2022, about 13,126 students enrolled in Indian academic institutions were from Nepal. A total number of over 30 thousand foreign national students were enrolled in India during that year with the highest share of students coming from the neighbouring countries.

In 2021, Universidade da Integração Internacional da Lusofonia Afro-Brasileira (UNILAB) topped the list of higher education institutions with the largest number of foreign students in Brazil, with 1,398 foreign students. Universidade Federal da Integração Latino-Americana (UNILA) came in second with 1,368 students.

There were 347,602 international students studying at the undergraduate level in the United States in the 2022/23 academic year. In that same year, there were 467,027 international graduate students studying in the country, and a further 43,766 non-degree seeking international students.

In Columbia University's Class of 2028 (students beginning in the fall of 2024), 17 percent of students were international students. This is compared to Harvard University, where 18 percent of incoming students were international students.

In 2023, the majority of overseas students in Australia came from China, accounting for around 23 percent of international students. The next largest group was students from India, accounting for around 15 percent of all international students.

In the academic year 2019/2020, there were 96 thousand university students in Italy having a foreign citizenship. About 10.5 thousand students were from Romania, the most common country of origin. Moreover, nine thousand Albanian students were enrolled in a university program in Italy, which made them the second largest nationality of foreign students in the country. Respectively, Romanian and Albanian students held 11 percent and nine percent of all foreign students.

Higher education is an important export economy for Australia, with international students paying significantly higher fees for their tertiary studies than domestic students in the country. According to Times Higher Education, the Federation University Australia ranked the highest in terms of share of international students in 2023. During that period, around 52 percent of the students enrolled at Federation University Australia were international students.

International tertiary education sector

An internationally recognized qualification from an Australian university is appealing to many foreign students. Chinese students made up the largest proportion of international students in Australia. In 2017, of the 624 thousand foreign students studying at higher education institutions, around 184.5 thousand originated from China. Management and commerce courses were the most popular courses for international students to study, followed by engineering, society and culture, and information technology.

Economic contribution

International education activity is a significant export income source for Australia. In 2017, around 30 billion Australian dollars were generated from intentional student expenditure – a value that has been increasing consistently over the past years. Chinese students studying onshore on student visas contributed over 10 billion Australian dollars in that year alone. Australia’s major competitors in this sector include its neighbor New Zealand, Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. Factors affecting student enrolments include increasing tuition fees, visa application costs as well as the comparatively high cost of living in Australian cities.

This statistic shows the distribution of foreign students in higher education institutions in France during the 2023/2024 academic year, by geographical origins. With more than 25 percent, the majority of foreign students in France came from Africa, followed by students from Maghreb.

There were 34,198 foreign students in Egypt as of 2020, of which 16,390 were from East Asia and the Pacific, the largest region. Sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab states followed with 3,271 and 1,763 students, respectively. It is worth noting that around 10,700 students were counted as being from unknown regions.

In 2023, Angola ranked first as the country with the most students in Brazil with 1,885 students, followed by Japan with 1,533 students. The South American country of Paraguay had 1,256 nationals studying in Brazil that year.

In 2023, there were more than one million international students in Canada. Of these, approximately 427,000 students were from India, followed by China with 102,150 students.

By far the highest number of international university students studying in Russia in the school year 2022/23 came from Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, at approximately 41,700 and 38,100, respectively. Moreover, over 31,000 Chinese students were bachelor's, specialist's, and master's students in Russia.