Key Takeaways
- China and India accounted for more than half of total international student intake during the 2023/24 year
- Overall, the U.S. welcomed 1,126,690 students from over 210 different countries
Despite travel bans by the current U.S. administration, international education remains a cornerstone of the U.S. academic landscape. In the 2023/24 academic year, over 1.1 million international students enrolled in U.S. institutions.
In this infographic, we break down where these students come from, ranking the top source countries.
Data & Discussion
The data for this visualization comes from Open Doors. It highlights U.S. international students by country, showing both numeric totals and their percentage shares of the overall intake.
| Country | Number of Students (2023/2024 Year) |
Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 🇮🇳 India | 331,602 | 29.4% |
| 🇨🇳 China | 277,398 | 24.6% |
| 🇰🇷 South Korea | 43,149 | 3.8% |
| 🇨🇦 Canada | 28,998 | 2.6% |
| 🇹🇼 Taiwan | 23,144 | 2.1% |
| 🇻🇳 Vietnam | 22,066 | 2.0% |
| 🇳🇬 Nigeria | 21,975 | 2.0% |
| 🇧🇩 Bangladesh | 17,099 | 1.5% |
| 🇧🇷 Brazil | 16,877 | 1.5% |
| 🇳🇵 Nepal | 16,742 | 1.5% |
| 🇲🇽 Mexico | 15,994 | 1.4% |
| 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia | 14,829 | 1.3% |
| 🇯🇵 Japan | 13,598 | 1.2% |
| 🇮🇷 Iran | 12,490 | 1.1% |
| 🇵🇰 Pakistan | 11,133 | 1.0% |
| 🇬🇧 UK | 10,473 | 0.9% |
| 🇨🇴 Colombia | 10,420 | 0.9% |
| 🇬🇭 Ghana | 9,394 | 0.8% |
| 🇩🇪 Germany | 9,230 | 0.8% |
| 🇹🇷 Türkiye | 8,972 | 0.8% |
| 🇪🇸 Spain | 8,842 | 0.8% |
| 🇫🇷 France | 8,543 | 0.8% |
| 🇮🇩 Indonesia | 8,145 | 0.7% |
| 🇮🇹 Italy | 6,345 | 0.6% |
| 🇭🇰 Hong Kong | 5,627 | 0.5% |
| 🌐 Other | 175,624 | 15.6% |
| 📊 Total | 1,126,690 | 100.0% |
India Surpasses China as the Top Source
India sent over 331,000 students to the U.S. last year, surpassing China’s 277,000. This shift reflects a growing trend seen over the past few years as Chinese enrollments have declined.
As The New York Times reports, expanding middle-class ambitions have helped India take the lead, though the recent halt on visa interviews is throwing things into disarray. The U.S. also happens to have the largest Indian immigrant population in the world.
Smaller Countries See Growth
While giants like India and China dominate, countries like Bangladesh, Nepal, and Nigeria have quietly grown their presence.
According to the 2023/24 Open Doors report, Bangladesh and Nepal both reached all-time highs, while Nigerian enrollment grew by 13.5% year-over-year.
Declines in South Korean Enrollment
Some countries are sending fewer students. South Korea, while still the third largest source, sent 43,149 students in 2023/24, down from 73,351 in 2010/11.
One reason could be South Korea’s declining fertility rate, which results in fewer young people enrolling in higher education both domestically and abroad.
