International Students in the U.S. 

In 2019, the number of international students in the U.S. peaked at 1,095,299. However, the COVID-19 pandemic led to a decline of 12.3% in 2022, bringing the total to 948,519. Over the period from 1950 to 2022, international student enrollment in the U.S. surged by a remarkable 36-fold, representing a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 5.1%. While international students accounted for only 1.5% of the total U.S. student population in the 1960s, this proportion steadily climbed to 5.5% by 2018-2020, before receding to 4.7% in 2022 due to the pandemic.

 

In 2022, international students in the U.S. were distributed across academic levels, with 344,532 undergraduates (36% of the total) and 385,079 graduate students (41% of the total).

 

Analyzing the continental origins of international students in 2022, the majority hailed from Asia (715,619, 75.4%), followed by the Americas (104,982, 11.1%), Europe (72,604, 7.7%), Africa (49,308, 5.2%), and Oceania (5,994, 0.6%). Notably, more than half of U.S. international students in 2022 originated from China (290,086, 30.6%) and India (199,182, 21%). This represents a substantial increase from their combined 8% share in the 1960s, reaching 52% in 2022. China and India have been pivotal in driving the growth of international students in the U.S., contributing 60.8% and 31.6%, respectively, to the overall increase of 365,535 students between 2007 and 2022. During this period, Chinese student enrollment surged by 328%, Indian enrollment by 138%, while the rest of the world witnessed a more modest 6.4% growth.

 

Examining international graduate students specifically, China leads with 123,128 students (32% of the global total), followed by India with 102,024 students (26.5% of the global total). Additionally, India boasts the largest number of Optional Practical Training (OPT) students at the postsecondary level in the U.S., with 68,188 students (36.9% of the global total), followed by China with 51,119 students (27.7% of the global total). In STEM fields, including mathematics, computer science, and engineering, India again takes the lead with 150,382, 73,299, and 58,958 students, respectively, followed closely by China with 149,684, 67,010, and 49,895 students.

 

In 2022, the top 10 countries of origin for international students in the U.S. were China (290,086, 30.6%), India (199,182, 21%), South Korea (40,755, 4.3%), Canada (27,013, 2.8%), Vietnam (20,713, 2.2%), Taiwan (20,487, 2.2%), Saudi Arabia (18,206, 1.9%), Brazil (14,897, 1.6%), Mexico (14,500, 1.5%), and Nigeria (14,438, 1.5%).

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