India Leading Exporter Of Students To The U.S.

India remains the leading exporter of students to the US for the seventh year in a row, followed by China and South Korea.

With 83,833 students in 2006-07 and a 10 per cent increase from previous year, India maintained the lead as the place of origin for highest number of international students in the U.S.

China remains in second place, with numbers up by 8 per cent to 67,723 and the Republic of Korea, in third place, increased its share by six per cent to 62,392.

The United States continues to attract the imagination and ambitions of international students, which is evident from the increase in numbers of total enrollments.

The number of international students studying in the United States during academic year 2006/07 increased three per cent, to total 582,984. This is the first hike since 2001/2002, according to statistics released by Open Doors 2007 on international students mobility.

The top ten most popular fields of study for international students in the US in 2006/07 were Business and Management (18 per cent of total), Engineering (15 per cent) and Physical and Life Sciences (9 per cent), followed closely by Social Sciences (8 per cent), Mathematics and Computer Sciences (8 per cent), Fine & Applied Arts (5 per cent).

Health Professions accounted for five per cent, Intensive English Language four per cent while Education and Humanities were 3 per cent each.

Fields experiencing growth include Intensive English Language (up 30 per cent) and Social Sciences (up 6 per cent).

About 156 US campuses each hosted more than 1,000 students. Overall, Asia remains the largest sending region, accounting for 59 per cent of total US international enrollments, an increase of 5 per cent this year.

The number of students from South and Central Asia increased by 10 per cent, driven by the large increases from India, while enrollments from Pakistan and Bangladesh declined.

Surprisingly the enrollments from the Middle East increased by 25 per cent in 2006/07, according to Open Doors.

The most notable increase was in the number of students from Saudi Arabia. Significant percentage increases (from lower base numbers) were also seen in students from Iran, Iraq and the Palestinian Authority.

There were declines in the numbers of students coming from several countries in the region, including Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, and the UAE.

Enrollments from East Asia increased by 3 per cent this year, with strong increases from China, South Korea and Taiwan partially offset by declines from Japan and Hong Kong.

Southeast Asian enrollments increased 2 per cent in 2006/07, with gains from Vietnam and Thailand partially offset by declines from Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Cambodia.

International students contribute approximately USD14.5 billion dollars to the US economy, through their expenditure on tuition and living expenses. Department of Commerce data describe US higher education as the country's fifth largest service sector export. (DNA)
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