Indian students overtake Chinese in the US for first time since 2009

Indian students now dominate US campuses, surpassing China for the first time in 15 years. This milestone highlights India's growing presence in global education.

In Short

• Indian students surpass Chinese in US after 15 years
• Engineering dips, Math & CS grow among Indian students
• 3.31 lakh Indians make up 29.4% of US foreign students

For the first time in 15 years, Indian students have surpassed Chinese students in the United States for the 2023-24 academic session. A total of 3.31 lakh Indian students now study in the US, making up 29.4% of its 11 lakh international student population, according to the recently released Open Doors 2024 report.

This figure represents an increase from the 25.4% share recorded the previous year.

In contrast, the number of Chinese students has declined to 2.74 lakh during the same period. Since 2009, the number of Indian students in the US has nearly tripled, growing from 104,897 in 2009 to 331,602 in 2024.

On the other hand, Chinese students have almost doubled in the same period from 1,27,628 in 2009 to 2,77,328 in 2024.

Indian students now make up a weighty portion of the international student cohort in most Western countries and are key contributors to the US’s global student population.

Together, India and China continue to dominate America’s international student landscape, with their combined share rising to 54% from 52.8% the previous year.

MAJOR COUNTRIES STUDYING IN US OTHER THAN INDIA

South Korea, Canada, and Taiwan continue to be among the leading countries sending students to the United States, with 43,149, 28,998, and 23,157 students, respectively, as per the latest data.

The report highlights significant growth in Indian postgraduate enrolments in the US, reaching 1.96 lakh students in 2023-24, which accounts for 59% of the total Indian students. This represents an 18% increase from the previous year.

Undergraduate enrolments also saw a notable 13% rise. Conversely, Chinese postgraduate and undergraduate enrolments experienced declines of 2.58% and 12.75%, respectively, compared to 2022-23.

Among Indian students, Mathematics and Computer Science remain the most sought-after disciplines, with 42.9% of students opting for these fields in 2023-24, an increase from 41.2% the previous year.

Engineering, once a dominant choice, has seen a steady decline. In 2023-24, 24.5% of Indian students pursued engineering, down from 26.9% in 2022-23 and 29.6% in 2021-22.

The findings come from the Open Doors Report, an annual survey that monitors trends in international student exchanges in the US.

The report, conducted by the Institute of International Education (IIE), is funded by the US Department of State and serves as a key resource for understanding global academic mobility patterns.

A similar pattern was seen recently in Germany as per the Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) data released in September. As of the 2023-24 winter semester, 49,483 Indian students are studying in Germany, a 15.1% rise from last year, making India the largest international student group in the country, overtaking China.