Nearly 60% Increase in Number of German Students in US

The number of German students enrolling at US higher education institutions increased in the 2021/22 academic year, the latest Open Doors report from the Institute for International Education has shown.

According to IIE’s annual “Open Doors,” there was a 59,4 percent increase in German students in the United States in the 2021/22 academic year compared to the previous year. Data indicate the number increased from 5,364 in 2020/21 to 8,550 in 2021/22, Erudera.com reports.

German students’ interest to study at US universities declined in several academic years, but the most significant decrease was recorded from 2014/15 to 2020/21. Within this period, the number of German students in the US fell by 47 percent, from 10,193 students in 2014/15 to 5,364 in the 2020/21 school year.

Over the years, the number of German students studying at US higher education institutions stood as follows:

• 9,819 students in the 2012/13 academic year
• 10,160 in 2013/14
• 10,193 in 2014/15
• 10,145 in 2015/16
• 10,169 in 2016/17
• 10,042 in 2017/18
• 9,191 in 2018/19
• 9,242 in 2019/20
• 5,364 in 2020/21
• 8,550 in 2021/22

Overall, 948,519 international students from more than 200 countries were studying in the United States in the 2021/22 academic year, a four percent increase from 2020/21, when 914,095 enrolled at US universities and colleges. In 2021/22, international students represented 4.7 percent of the total US higher education population.

“Welcoming international students to American campuses and communities is at the heart of people-to-people diplomacy and a foundational component of our U.S. foreign policy strategy to attract the top talent to the United States,” Lee Satterfield, Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs, said.

Chinese accounted for the majority of international students in the US during 2021/22. However, the number of students from China dropped last year compared to the previous year, from 317,299 in the 2020/21 academic year to 290,086 students in 2021/22.

China is followed by India, with 199,182 students, an increase of almost 19 percent from a year earlier when a total of 167,582 Indian students attended US higher education institutions. Other places of origin of international students in the US are South Korea, Canada, Vietnam, Taiwan, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Mexico, Nigeria, Japan, Nepal, Bangladesh, the United Kingdom, and more.

Most international students (134,043) settled in California, 113,666 in New York, 71,026 in Massachusetts, and 70,223 in Illinois. Many students went to Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio, and other US states.

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On the other hand, Germany also continues to be a popular place for international students to pursue higher education. DAAD data show that currently, there are up to 365,000 international students in Germany, an increase between two and four percent from last year.

Photograph: Vlad Hilitanu | Unsplash