Ranked: U.S. International Students by Country

Marcus Lu
2025-06-11 10:41:00
www.visualcapitalist.com

Ranked: America’s Top Sources of International Students

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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.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

If you enjoyed today’s post, check out America’s Top Universities in 2024 on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist.

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