China Continues to Lead in Sending Students to the US Despite Third Year of Decline

China maintained its position as the leading source of international students in the United States during the academic year 2022/23, sending 289,526 students, the latest data have revealed.

However, the number of students from China in the US has decreased for the third year in a row, Erudera.com reports.

According to the Open Doors 2023 report, the number is slightly lower than in 2021/22, when 290,086 Chinese students studied in the US. Over the previous academic years, the number of Chinese students on US Campuses stood at:

• 372,532 students in 2019/20
• 317,299 students in 2020/21
• 290,086 students in 2021/22
• 289,526 students in 2022/23

The report released by the US Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the Institute of International Education (IIE) revealed that India, on the other hand, witnessed a remarkable surge in its students.

There were 268,923 Indian students enrolled at US higher education institutions in 2022/23, up from 199,182 in the 2021/22 academic year.

South Korea is another important contributor to the international student population in the US, which also saw an increase in enrollment. The number of South Korean students in the US reached 43,847 in the 2022/23 academic year, compared to 40,755 in the previous year - a 7.5 percent increase.

US universities also recorded a modest increase in the number of students from Canada, with 27,876 students in 2022/23, up from 27,013 a year earlier.

Vietnam and Taiwan both experienced growth in their student bodies within the US campuses. Vietnam sent 21,900 students in 2022/23, up from 20,713 a year ago, while Taiwan had 21,834 students, an increase from 20,487 in the previous academic year.

The number of Nigerian students choosing the United States to pursue higher education also improved. Nigerian students totalled 17,640, reflecting a substantial increase from the 14,438 students in the previous academic year.

Moreover, the Open Doors report revealed that overall, the international enrollment in the United States experienced a significant uptick.

According to figures, international enrollment at US universities and colleges rose to 1,057,188 students in the 2022/23 academic year from 948,519 in the previous academic year. That is a nearly 12 percent increase between the respective academic years and the fastest annual growth in more than 40 years.

“Over one million international students studying in the U.S. reflects a strong rebound, with the number approaching pre-pandemic levels. This reinforces that the U.S. remains the destination of choice for international students wishing to study abroad, as it has been for more than a century,” said IIE CEO Allan E. Goodman.

Last academic year, record numbers of students from Bangladesh, Colombia, Ghana, India, Italy, Nepal, Pakistan, and Spain went to study in the US.

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