U.S. To Be Most Popular Destination for Foreign Students

Photo Credit: Easten Law

From Karin Fischer of The Chronicle of Higher Education:

"The United States is projected to be the largest and fastest-growing destination for foreign students over the next decade, according to a report released on Tuesday by the British Council's Education Intelligence global-research service. 

But American universities' heavy reliance on students from China and India could make them vulnerable if an economic slowdown in those and other emerging countries put a college degree—particularly a costly foreign diploma—out of the reach of many families. India and China are predicted to account for fully two-thirds of the growth in international students at American institutions from 2011 to 2024, the research shows. 

Worldwide, the two countries are expected to contribute 35 percent of total foreign-student growth during the forecast period. 

The report, "The Future of the World's Mobile Students to 2024," examines the demographic and economic drivers of higher-education enrollments in 56 countries. Its authors project that overall enrollments will climb by 32 million, or 1.4 percent per year, to 196 million globally. 

By 2024, nearly 3.9 million students will study outside their home countries, up from about three million in 2011, according to forecasts by the council, the British government's educational and cultural arm. (Because of data availability, that figure may include students who are not citizens of the country in which they are studying even if they already were living there.) 

One-third of those globally mobile students will hail from either India or China. 

While the number of Chinese students going overseas will continue to grow, the report suggests, the rate of increase is likely to slow compared with recent years. From 2009 to 2011, the number of outbound Chinese students shot up by 150,000, although an earlier British Council study had forecast a far-smaller increase, of just 13,000. 

In the next decade, the number of Chinese students pursuing an international degree is expected to climb by a more modest 132,000, to 855,000."

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(HT: Trae Vacek)