While within the United States there is a great deal of debate about how the higher education system as a whole is functioning, its appeal to those from outside the country is as strong as ever. The number of students traveling from outside the United States to attend a U.S. institute of higher learning has been increasing steadily during the first decade of the 21st century. This is both a challenge and a benefit for U.S. colleges and universities as these students often need intensive language assistance but also pay full tuition. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, foreign students in the United States contribute approximately $20 billion to the economy annually.

Today’s market size is the size of the population of foreign students at U.S. institutions of higher learning in 2009.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 2009/2010 School Year
Market size: 690,923 students — in terms of country of origin, the three leading countries are China which sent 18.5% of the students in 2009/2010, India which sent 15.2% and South Korea which sent 10.4%
Source: A press release for the report titled Open Doors 2010 which is put out annually by the Institute of International Education. The report is issued annually and the press release announcing the 2010 edition is available online here.
Original source: Institute for International Education and the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
Posted on November 7, 2011