The latest information on international students in the US is out. While the main news is that there are still over 1 million students in the US, there was a 6.6 percent decline in new students. There was not an overall decline due to the fact that a large number of students remained in the U.S. with the OPT program. The U.S. still remains the largest educator of international students. However, with a 6.6 percent decline following last year’s 3 percent decline, we may be seeing a downward trend in the number of international students enrolling in U.S. schools.
Other stats from the 2017/2018 report:
- 51 percent of international students in the U.S. are from China or India
- 33 percent of students are from China
- The largest decline of students was Saudi Arabia which lost over 15 percent over last year
- The largest increase was from Nepal which increased 14 percent
- The largest state hosting students is California: 161,942
- The largest school enrolling students is New York University: 17,552
- International students make up 5.5 percent of students in higher education, a high for the last ten years.
Read the IIE report
Read a U.S News and World Report article on global competition for international students.