Indian Students Spent Rs 56,000 Crore In US In 12 Months; 2nd Largest Source Of Foreign Students!

The preference of Indian students for universities in foreign lands for their further education is not new to us. A recent report has shown that Indian students have contributed as much as USD 7.6 billion to the US economy.

China has also maintained its position of being the largest source of international students in the US.

Indian Students Have Contributed 7.6 Billion USD To The US Economy

The report “Open Doors 2020” released by the US Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the Institute of International Education (IIE) has given insights on international students in the US.

The report states that Indian students have contributed USD 7.6 billion to the US economy in the academic year 2019-2020. This number is despite the drop of 4.4 per cent in the total number of Indian students. India is the second largest source of international students in the US with the decline resulting in 193,124 students.

The largest source of international students in the US still remains China with more than 372,000 Chinese students in the US during 2019-2020. The number of students from China in the US has increased for the 16th consecutive year.

This is the fifth consecutive year that there have been more than 1 million international students in the US with the total number of international students being 1,075,496 in an academic year.

1.8 Percent Decline In The International Students In The US

There has been a decline of 1.8 per cent in the number of international students in the US during 2019-2020 and despite this, the group represents 5.5 per cent of all the students in the higher education system in the US.

The total contribution by International students to the US economy in 2019 is as much as 44 billion USD.

Marie Royce, Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs said, “We are encouraged to see a fifth year of more than 1 million international students in the United States before the pandemic.”

The countries with the largest percentage increase were students from Bangladesh, Brazil and Nigeria, which added 7%, 4%, and 3% respectively. Whereas, Saudi Arabia saw the largest percentage decrease of 17 percent due to the changes in the government’s scholarship program.