Where America's International Students Come From

The Covid-19 pandemic saw international enrollment at U.S. higher education institutions dip majorly, but the number of international students has recovered in the academic year of 2022/23 - aided by a bigger influx from India. While still below pre-pandemic levels, the Open Doors Report on International Education Exchange counted 1.06 million international students in the country in the past school year. This represents an increase of 11.5 percent over 2021/22 and 15.7 percent over 2020/21.

International students make up 5.6 percent of the total U.S. student population, up from 4.6 percent one year prior. They contributed around $40 billion to the American economy in 2022/23.

China remained the largest source country for international students with a grand total of 289,526 enrolled in undergraduate, graduate, non-degree and optional practicing training programs. Their number has been decreasing for years however. India, on the other hand, came second with 268,923 students - a count that has been increasing, most recently by a whopping 35 percent. South Korea is in rank 3 with 43,847 international students in the past academic year, followed by Canada, Vietnam and Taiwan. Other countries where international enrollment at U.S. institutions grew quickly were Nigeria (up 22 percent) and Japan (up 19 percent).