US still top destination for foreign students

London, Sep 12: The United States remains the most popular destination for foreign students, but its share of the competitive international education market has fallen to 22 per cent from 25 per cent in four years, a study said today.

The decline in US market share fell as the number of foreign university students enrolled around the world grew 41 per cent to 2.7 million between 2000 and 2004, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said.

The OECD said the ''significant drop'' in the proportion of foreign students going to the United States reflected its passive approach to attracting them as well as the tighter rules for entering the country after the September 11, 2001 attacks.

In its annual Education at a Glance survey, the OECD said the declining US share was matched by rises of one percent or more in foreign student market share in New Zealand, France and South Africa.

''Worldwide competition for highly skilled workers is strong, and international students are increasingly regarded as a source of highly skilled immigrants by some OECD countries,'' the report said.

Several of the OECD's 30 member nations -- which make up the world's most industrialised countries -- have recently softened their immigration policies to encourage the temporary or permanent residence of international students.

The United States, together with the United Kingdom, Germany and France attracted just over half of all foreign students pursuing their studies abroad in 2004.

While the United States has the highest absolute number of foreign students, the proportion is relatively low compared to its overall student population at around 3 per cent.

Australia has the highest proportion of overseas students enrolling at its universities at almost 17 per cent, followed by the United Kingdom at 13.4 per cent and Switzerland at 12.7 per cent.

Asian students comprise the largest group studying abroad, making up 45 per cent of international students in OECD countries, with Chinese students accounting for 15 per cent of this total.

Reuters