Open Doors of the Institute of International Education has just released a report on international students. The table below lists international students’ top 25 places of origin from 2015 to 2016. The total number of foreign students receiving a higher education in the United States has surpassed one million. This is a 7.1% increase up from the previous year. 60 percent of the international students attending U.S. colleges are from top five countries of origin: China (31.5%), India (15.9%), Saudi Arabia (5.9%), South Korea (5.8%), and Canada (2.6%).
(source: Open Doors Data)
| TOP 25 PLACES OF ORIGIN OF INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS 2015-16 | |||||
| Rank | Place of Origin | 2014-15 | 2015-16 | % of Total | % Change |
| WORLD TOTAL | 974,926 | 1,043,839 | 100.0 | 7.1 | |
| 1 | China | 304,040 | 328,547 | 31.5 | 8.1 |
| 2 | India | 132,888 | 165,918 | 15.9 | 24.9 |
| 3 | Saudi Arabia | 59,945 | 61,287 | 5.9 | 2.2 |
| 4 | South Korea | 63,710 | 61,007 | 5.8 | -4.2 |
| 5 | Canada | 27,240 | 26,973 | 2.6 | -1.0 |
| 6 | Vietnam | 18,722 | 21,403 | 2.1 | 14.3 |
| 7 | Taiwan | 20,993 | 21,127 | 2.0 | 0.6 |
| 8 | Brazil | 23,675 | 19,370 | 1.9 | -18.2 |
| 9 | Japan | 19,064 | 19,060 | 1.8 | 0.0 |
| 10 | Mexico | 17,052 | 16,733 | 1.6 | -1.9 |
| 11 | Iran | 11,338 | 12,269 | 1.2 | 8.2 |
| 12 | United Kingdom | 10,743 | 11,599 | 1.1 | 8.0 |
| 13 | Turkey | 10,724 | 10,691 | 1.0 | -0.3 |
| 14 | Nigeria | 9,494 | 10,674 | 1.0 | 12.4 |
| 15 | Germany | 10,193 | 10,145 | 1.0 | -0.5 |
| 16 | Kuwait | 9,034 | 9,772 | 0.9 | 8.2 |
| 17 | Nepal | 8,158 | 9,662 | 0.9 | 18.4 |
| 18 | France | 8,743 | 8,764 | 0.8 | 0.2 |
| 19 | Indonesia | 8,188 | 8,727 | 0.8 | 6.6 |
| 20 | Venezuela | 7,890 | 8,267 | 0.8 | 4.8 |
| 21 | Hong Kong | 8,012 | 7,923 | 0.8 | -1.1 |
| 22 | Malaysia | 7,231 | 7,834 | 0.8 | 8.3 |
| 23 | Colombia | 7,169 | 7,815 | 0.7 | 9.0 |
| 24 | Thailand | 7,217 | 7,113 | 0.7 | -1.4 |
| 25 | Spain | 6,143 | 6,640 | 0.6 | 8.1 |
For more info on international students receiving U.S. higher education please read the latest report from the Institute of International Education.
Students from Kuwait were going to the U.S. but now they may go to other countries because of new president Trump though I think Trump will not do something stupid to hurt international students. He is a business man. He can sense money.
However, maybe it is too late to revise what he had said during the election. Many future international students, especially Muslims, are afraid of coming to the U.S. now. Read this report from NBC-http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/international-college-students-leery-trump-could-cost-u-s-billions-n691871
The number from Vietnam jumped 14.3 percent. I hope that I can be one of the students from Vietnam if I can get a good SAT score.
Yes, you will. Remember – “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.” Good luck.
There are too many Chinese students here already. I often see Chinese students only deal with Chinese. This type of environment will not do any good to the Chinese students.
It is sad to sad to see some Chinese students coming to the United States and act like they are still in China. No wonder they are viewed as the unhappiest international students. Having an open mind to accept diversity is where happiness starts.
I noticed that France was at #18.
Next year, the statistics may change quite a bit due to international students’ fears for Trump.
It will be interesting to see the new data for 2016-17. The report will be released by IIE sometime between October and November. We believe that most American schools are eager to see the result.