Sub-Saharan African Students are among the most mobile in the world
According to the latest UIS data, at least 3.6 million students in 2010 were enrolled in tertiary education abroad, up from 2 million in 2000. The surge in internationally mobile students reflects the rapid expansion of enrolment in higher education globally, which has grown by 78per cent in a decade.
East Asia and the Pacific is the largest source of international students, representing 28per cent of the global total. Students from China make up one-half of this figure, or 17per cent of the total. The United States, Australia, and Japan are their main destinations for study.
North America and Western Europe follows, accounting for 15per cent of those going abroad.
In relative terms, students from Central Asia and sub-Saharan Africa are the most mobile in the world. About 6 out of 100 tertiary students from Central Asia, and 5 out of 100 from sub-Saharan Africa go away to study.
Education hubs are developing in the regions and attracting growing concentrations of mobile students. South Africa, for example, received 17per cent of mobile students from sub-Saharan Africa in 2010. Nonetheless, France remains the region’s top destination, receiving 19 per cent of students.
The Arab States has also seen a steady rise in outbound students over the past ten years, accounting for 7 per cent of the global total. France, the United States and the United Kingdom absorb most of these students; however, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (Dubai) are also popular destinations for high-level studies.
Several countries have more students studying abroad than at home. In São Tomé and Principe, for example, fewer than 1,000 students were enrolled in domestic higher education institutions, representing 4per cent of its tertiary-age population; whereas approximately 2,500 students studied abroad, or 14per cent of tertiary-age population. In other words, 18per cent of the population of university age were enrolled in higher education programmes.
NB: The term “internationally mobile students” refers to students who have crossed a national border to study, or are enrolled in a distance learning programme abroad. These students are not residents or citizens of the country where they study. Internationally mobile students are a sub-group of “foreign students,” a category that includes those who have permanent residency in the host country. For this reason, the number of foreign students, globally, tends to be higher.
Good to know !
Top destination countries:
- United States (19per cent)
- United Kingdom (11per cent)
- Australia (8per cent)
- France (7per cent)
- Germany (6per cent)
- Japan (4per cent)
Top 3 destinations by region:
- Arab States: France (29per cent), United States (13per cent), United Kingdom (10per cent)
- Central and Eastern Europe: Germany (16per cent), Russian Federation (10per cent), United States (8per cent)
- Central Asia: Russian Federation (46per cent), Kyrgyzstan (10per cent), Turkey (7per cent)
- East Asia and the Pacific: United States (28per cent), Australia (17per cent), Japan (12per cent)
- Latin America and the Caribbean: United States (33per cent), Spain (15per cent), Cuba (11per cent)
- North America and Western Europe: United Kingdom (23per cent), United States (15per cent), and Germany (8per cent)
- South and West Asia: United States (38per cent), United Kingdom (18per cent), Australia (11per cent)
- Sub-Saharan Africa: France (19per cent), South Africa (17per cent), United Kingdom (12per cent)
Top sources of international students:
- China
- India
- Republic of Korea
Regions that host the largest number of internationally mobile students:
- North America and Western Europe (58per cent)
- East Asia and the Pacific (21per cent), and
- Central and Eastern Europe (9per cent)
Countries that have more students studying abroad than at home:
- Andorra
- Anguilla
- Bermuda
- Dominica
- Liechtenstein
- Luxembourg
- Montserrat
- São Tomé and Principe
Source: “The Global Flow of Tertiary-Level Students”, UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
For details: http://www.uis.unesco.org/Education/Pages/international-student-flow-viz.aspx, 6 Feb. 2013
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