International student enrollment at U.S. institutions during the 2023/24 academic year increased 7% from the previous academic year, reaching an all-time high of 1.1 million students.
For the first time, India was the top country of origin for international students, with 29.4% of the total – representing an increase of 23% from the previous year. China was a close second at 24.6%.
Study abroad by students from the United States also increased during the 2022/23 academic year.
On November 18, 2024, the U.S. Department of State and the Institute of International Education released the 2024 Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange. The Open Doors Report, which includes data both on international student enrollment at U.S. higher education institutions (during the 2023/24 academic year) and U.S. students studying abroad (during the 2022/23 academic year), showed higher numbers in both areas as compared to the 2022/23 and 2021/22 academic years, respectively.
International Student Enrollment at U.S. Institutions
In the 2023/24 academic year, U.S. institutions of higher education hosted 1,126,690 international students from more than 210 places of origin – representing a 6.6% increase from the previous academic year and an all-time high since the Institute for International Education began tracking international student enrollment. International students represented 5.9% of the total higher education student population in the United States, a slightly higher proportion than the previous year.
For the first time, India launched into the top spot, with 29.4% (331,602 students), a 23.3% increase from the previous year. Numbers from China, in the second spot this year, remained strong at 24.6% (277,398) but declined slightly (-4.2%) from the previous year. South Korea was a distant third (3.8%), with Canada, Taiwan, Vietnam, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Brazil, and Nepal rounding out the top ten in terms of the countries sending the most students to study in the United States.
All-time international student highs were seen in eight of the 25 leading places of origin (Bangladesh, Colombia, Ghana, India, Italy, Nepal, Pakistan, and Spain). Among world regions, for the second year in a row the highest rate of growth was seen in Sub-Saharan Africa, with the number of students from Ghana (still a relatively small percentage of the total at .8%) increasing by 45% from the previous academic year.
International student enrollments increased for graduate studies (+7.6%) and OPT (+22.1%) and decreased with respect to undergraduate studies (-1.4%) and non-degree programs (-11.5%). There were also increases in most major fields of study with the largest increase (+16.9%) coming from math and computer science.
U.S. Students Studying Abroad
Study abroad also increased during the 2022-23 academic year, with 280,716 students studying abroad for academic credit (a 49% increase from the previous year). Still, just 9.3% of U.S. undergraduates study abroad during their degree program.
Other key findings included the following:
Short-term programs account for a majority of the study abroad experiences, with 41% taking place during the summer term and 23% consisting of eight weeks or fewer during the academic year.
Over half of U.S. students studying abroad participate in programs in one of the following six countries, five of which are in Europe: Italy, United Kingdom, Spain, France, Ireland, and Japan.
***
Those interested in more details may wish to watch the annual release presentation, review the latest data, or read an Inside Higher Ed analysis of the international student enrollment data.