These Countries Are Planning to Accept More International Students By 2026 & Beyond

International students make a significant contribution to their host countries, both during their studies and in the labor market after graduation. As a result, several nations aim to attract more students from abroad in the next years and position themselves as top choices for international education.

Students planning to study abroad are more likely to secure a place at higher education institutions in Japan or France as these countries have presented plans to welcome more international students.

Erudera has compiled a list of countries that have introduced pathways to increase their appeal to international students in the upcoming years.

Azerbaijan

Last year, Azerbaijan became home to 10,000 international students, and the country plans to host even more in the next three years.

At the “Opportunities of International Education in Azerbaijan” event, Deputy Minister of Science and Education Hasan Hasanli shared Azerbaijan’s goal of welcoming 75,000 international students by 2026.

Currently, more than 60,000 students attend higher education institutions in Azerbaijan. Local media reports say that 10,000 international students was a record high and a significant increase from the previous year’s 5,765 students.

Finland

Finland seeks to attract 15,000 international students by 2030 as part of a strategy to strengthen its workforce with more talent. India is among the countries where Finland is expected to focus.

“The Finnish society is ageing; therefore, the country needs more young people to join the labour market,” Glenn Gassen, Director of Immigration Affairs, Helsinki, explained during an interview with TOI.

According to data by the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri), by the end of July last year, a total of 8,762 non-EU applicants submitted their first residence permit applications for studies.

“This year, 7,039 first residence permits for studies were awarded between January and July. The majority, around 95 percent of the applications, are approved. Typically, negative decisions are based on difficulties in proving sufficient financial resources,” Migri said.

The number of international students applying for residence permits in Finland increased by 62 percent between 2021 and 2022.

France (Indian students)

France has also unveiled some plans to attract more international students in the upcoming years, particularly those from India.

The announcement came from the French Ambassador to India, H.E. Emmanuel Lenain, who said the country plans to host 30,000 Indian students in the future.

Ranking among the top six most popular study destinations for international students, France currently has 400,000 international students.

© Norbu GYACHUNG / Unsplash

According to a survey of 1,015 students conducted by Study.eu, the European study choice platform, 79 percent of international students consider studying in France because of the quality of education at French universities.

The same found that Paris is the most popular city for international students, with 71 percent of respondents expressing a preference for the French capital.

In 2018, the French Prime Minister, Edouard Philippe, unveiled a strategy to increase France’s appeal to international students, saying the target is 500,000 international students by 2027.

India

One of the most significant targets has been set by India, which plans to attract half a million international students. NITI Aayog’s CEO, BVR Subrahmanyam, has officially confirmed the news.

He made these remarks during the annual FICCI Higher Education Summit., where he also stressed the country wants to reach this specific target by the year 2047.

“One of the important points in this includes that by 2047 we aim to target half a million foreign students in India,” Subrahmanyam said, pointing out that NITI Aayog is drafting a document to help achieve the target.

According to the All-India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) 2020/21 report published by the Ministry of Education, India hosted a total of 48,035 international students from 163 different countries in the 2020/21 academic year.

Iran

At the end of last year, Iran’s Ministry of Science introduced a plan to attract more international students to the country by 2026. The goal is to have nearly 320,000 international students in Iran by that time. However, many in the academic community have expressed skepticism over this plan, saying it is more an idealistic concept rather than a reality.

This belief might have been influenced by previous developments in the country, especially after the emigration of about 180,000 educated professionals. According to findings from Gulf International Forum, a US-based think tank, nearly half of university students, alumni, and professors have expressed a desire to leave the country.

Official statistics show that more than 95,000 Iranians are pursuing education in countries like the US, Germany, Turkey, Italy, Canada, Malaysia, Hungary, Australia, France and more.

As reported by IRNA, Mehdi Fayyazi, the deputy minister of education, said that a total of $335 million is allocated to the education of international students in Iran.

Japan

The latest initiative by the Japanese government also involves efforts to attract more international students to the country’s higher education institutions as well as to increase the number of Japanese students abroad.

As part of these efforts, Japan wants to increase the number of international students to 400,000 by 2033 and aims to send 500,000 Japanese students abroad by the same year.

© Jezael Melgoza / Unsplash

Previously, Japan’s target was 300,000 international students by 2020. In 2022, Japan was home to over 231,000 international students.

South Korea

Under the plan known as the Study Korea 300K Project, South Korea plans to attract 300,000 international students by 2027.

This is driven, among other things, by Korea’s need to boost its economy with highly skilled workers.

The number of International students in the country has been increasing, totaling 207,125 as of June 2023, with an annual growth rate of 17.6 percent.

Taiwan

Similarly, Taiwan has set an ambitious goal of attracting more than 300,000 international students by 2030. This represents a double increase from the pre-pandemic figure of 130,000 recorded in 2018.

40 percent of international students remain in Taiwan after graduation, and the country wants to increase this share to 70 percent for 2024-2028.

Main Picture by Alex Chernenko | Unsplash