Countries With Most International Students Over Time

Choosing where to study abroad is an important life decision and students usually consider several factors beforehand, including affordability, quality of education, university reputation, safety, and more. Many countries aim to attract more international students because the latter contribute significantly to the economies of their host country.

Countries that most often attract large numbers of international students include Australia, Canada, the United States or the United Kingdom. For many years in a row, the United States welcomed the highest number of international students worldwide, Erudera.com reports.

United States

The US welcomed more than one million (1,057,188) international students in the 2022/23 academic year. The number increased by almost 12 percent from the previous year when enrollment stood at 948,519.

According to the Open Doors 2023 report by the US State Department and the Institute of International Education, international student trend in the US over time has been:

• 886,052 students in 2013/14
• 974,926 students in 2014/15
• 1,043,836 students in 2015/16
• 1,078,822 students in 2016/17
• 1,094,792 students in 2017/18
• 1,095,299 students in 2018/19
• 1,075,496 students in 2019/20
• 914,095 students in 2020/21
• 948,519 students in 2021/22
• 1,057,188 students in 2022/23

HolonIQ's projections say the number of international students in the US will increase to between 1.3 and 2.8 million by 2034.

Where do students in the US come from?

China and India are the top two source countries for international students in the US. During the 2023 academic year, there were 289,526 Chinese students and 268,923 Indians in the US.

“53 percent of all international students in 2022/23 were from China and India, comparable to the prior year. However, the market share for each place of origin has shifted, with 27 percent of students from China and 25 percent of students from India, in comparison to 33 percent from China and 18 percent from India in 2017/18,” the Open Doors report said.

South Korea and Canada were the third and fourth largest markets with 43,847 and 27,876 students, respectively. These were followed by Vietnam (21,900 students), Taiwan (21,834 students), and Nigeria (17,640 students).

Canada

Canada has one of the largest international student markets in the world. Last year, it hosted over one million international students. The number of students with active study permits reached 1,040,985, a 29 percent increase from 2022. Half of these students usually settle in Ontario, also known as Canada’s most populous province.

Where do students in Canada come from?

Most students are originally from China and India. These two groups together accounted for more than half of international students in Canada over the past eight years.

In 2023, there were 427,085 Indian students and 101,150 Chinese students. A total of 48,870 Filipinos followed, 45,967 Nigerians, 26,980 French students, 24,960 Iranians, 20,465 Nepalese, and 17,175 Vietnamese students.

Australia

Figures from the government show there were 943,977 international student enrolments in Australia in the year-to-date July 2024. This represents an increase of 17 percent compared to the same period in 2019.

Additionally, the latest data showed the number of international students in Australia reached 793,335 for the January-July 2024 period, up 12 percent from the same period last year.

Where do students in Australia come from?

China and India are the largest sources of international students in Australia as well, accounting for 22 and 17 percent.

There were over 172,000 Chinese students and over 130,000 Indians studying in Australia between January and July this year.

During the same period, 62,154 students from Nepal chose Australia to pursue a degree, followed by 37,307 from the Philippines and 36,221 from Vietnam. Thousands of other students in Australia come from Colombia, Pakistan, Thailand, Indonesia, Brazil, and the rest of the world.

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom is another top study destination, attracting hundreds of thousands of students. According to the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), there were 758,855 international students in the country in the 2022/23 academic year, accounting for 26 percent of the student population. Of these, 95,505 were from EU countries and 663,355 from outside the EU.

2022/23 marked the tenth year in a row with a record number, accounting for 26 percent of the total student population.

The same shows that overall, there were 2,937,155 students in UK higher education in 2022/23, among whom 1,668,600 were female and 1,251,815 were male.

Where do students in the UK come from?

For more than ten years, China was the country with the most students in the UK. However, Chinese enrollment at UK institutions declined in 2020/21 and increased again in 2022/23.

India and China sent the highest number of international students to the UK, with 126,600 and 102,800 new entrants in 2022/23, respectively. Nigeria followed third with 53,800.

France

France most recently saw a nearly 5 percent increase in the number of international students. A total of 430,466 international students enrolled in French higher education institutions in 2023/24, up from 412,087 in the previous year.

Where do students in France come from?

Similar to the previous academic year, Morocco, Algeria, China, and Italy remain the top sending countries.

• 43,350 students from Morocco
• 34,270 students from Algeria
• 27,125 students from China
• 21,040 students from Italy
• 16,955 students from Senegal
• 15,255 students from Tunisia
• 12,090 students from Spain