More Chinese Students Are Staying in China to Study

An increasing number of Chinese students are staying in China to pursue their degrees, with the improved quality of domestic education being one of the reasons behind their decision, media reports said.

Other reasons that might play a role in Chinese students' choices include economic factors such as high unemployment, falling real estate prices, and more, Erudera.com reports.

According to a report by the University World News, the number of Chinese students remaining in China to pursue education has increased from 3 percent in 2021 to 15 percent in 2023.

Statista, the data provider, reveals that in 2023, there were about 37 million undergraduate students at Chinese colleges and universities.

China was the top source country for international students for many years. An estimated three million Chinese studied in the US since the late 1970s. According to research by the IIE, Chinese students contribute about $15.9 billion to the US economy annually.

However, data show that Chinese enrollment at US universities has dropped slightly in recent years. Last year, the number of Chinese students in the US fell 22 percent from the 2019/20 academic year.

According to the Open Doors Report, the influx of Chinese students in the US has been weakening over the past four academic years:

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

Last September, India surpassed China in the number of student visa holders in the US, with 320,000 students on active student visas compared to 254,000 from China, Homeland Security data indicate.

Additionally, Indian nationals made up about 40 percent of STEM students in the US over the past year compared to 23 percent of Chinese.

In a statement released earlier, US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said that American universities will be stricter regarding the admission of Chinese students in STEM fields that involve sensitive technology due to security concerns.

Nonetheless, China remains one of the leading sources of international students in some of the top study destinations, including Australia, the UK, Canada, and more.

In Australia, Chinese students represent 21 percent of the total student population. There were 151,690 Chinese students in the UK in 2021 and 2022, accounting for 27 percent of all non-EU students.

Last year, 101,150 Chinese students had study permits in Canada, representing the second-largest group of international students in the country.