During the 2023-2024 school year, the U.S. received over a million international students from over 200 countries and territories, according to an Open Doors report issued Monday by the Institute of International Education (IIE). The arrivals, which were a 6.6% increase from the previous school year, contributed about US$50 billion to the economy.
The number of fresh international student entrants was at over 298,000 people, the report said.
For the first time since 2009, the Indian student community surpassed Chinese to be the largest one in the U.S., with over 331,000 Indian students enrolling in schools and courses, an increase of over 23% from the previous period. They are followed by students from China, with over 277,000 students.
The number of Vietnamese students was at 22,066 people, placing them as the 6th-most populated international student community in the U.S.
The report also showed a significant increase in the number of students from Africa. The number of Nigerian students increased by 13% with over 20,000 students, while the number of students from Ghana increased by 45% to around 10,000 students.
The fields with the highest number of international students were Math and Computer Science, at around 281,000 people, an increase of 16.9%.
The report forecast that the number of international students in the U.S. will continue to rise in the next 4-5 years.
Allan Goodman, CEO of IIE, said that the U.S. is having an edge when it comes to admitting international students amid visa restrictions in countries like Canada and Australia. The country currently has over 4,000 educational facilities and can receive more students, he added.
Despite record-high numbers of international students in the U.S., they only account for 6% of all students in the country, compared to 26% in the U.K. and Australia, and 40% in Canada.
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