New record high of international students in the USA in 2023/24

In 2023/24, there were 1,126,690 international students enrolled at higher education institutions in the USA, surpassing the previous high of 1,095,299 in the 2018/19 academic year.

Study level: The overall growth in 2023/24 was driven by a 7.6 per cent increase in graduate students, compared with the previous year, to a record of 502,291, while the number of international students engaged in the post-study Optional Practical Training (OPT) route increased by 22.1 per cent to an all-time high of 242,782.

However, there was a slight 1.4 per cent decrease in undergraduate students to 342,875, while non-degree students dropped by 11.5 per cent to 38,742.

The number of new international students enrolling at US college or institution remained level with the previous year at 298,705.

International students accounted for 5.9 per cent of the higher education population in the USA, up from 5.6 per cent in the previous academic year.

“As we celebrate 75 years of Open Doors, we are thrilled to report that this year marks a record high of international students in the United States,” said Allan Goodman, IIE CEO. “International students enrich our campuses, foster cultural exchange, and contribute significantly to our economy, and we remain dedicated to supporting these bright minds and ensuring that the U.S. continues to be a premier destination for global education.”

Source markets: With a 23.3 per cent increase in 2023/24, India surpassed China to become the largest source country for the first time since 2009 with 331,602 students. China, meanwhile, decreased by 4.2 per cent to 277,398 students.

The top five was completed by South Korea (43,149 students, -1.6 per cent); Canada (28,998, +4.0); and Taiwan, which overtook Vietnam on the back of a 6.1 per cent increase to 23,147 students.

The largest year-on-year increase among the top 25 source countries came from Ghana, which jumped by 45.2 per cent to 9,394 students. There was also double-digit growth from Bangladesh (26.1), Iran (15.0), Nigeria (13.5), Colombia (11.3) and Nepal (10.9).

Sixteen of the top 25 source countries registered an increase in international students in the 2023/24 academic year, while nine per cent decreased. The largest drop among those was Japan, which declined by 13 per cent to 13,959 students.

Major growth markets in 2023/24 for the USA.

States: California retained its position as the largest host state of international higher education students with 140,858, a 1.8 per cent increase over the previous year. This was followed by New York (135,813 students, +7.1 per cent), Texas (89,546, +10.9), Massachusetts (82,306, +3.2), and Illinois (62,299, +12.6).

Institutions: New York University was again the institution with the largest international student population at 27,247, followed by Northeastern University – Boston (21,023), Columbia University (20,231), Arizona State University (18,430) and the University of Southern California (17,469).

Academic subjects: There was a large increase in international students on math & computer science programs, growing by 16.9 per cent to 280,922, while engineering was the second-most common course type, pursued by 210,163 students, followed by business & management (159,801).

Funding: The predominant source of funding for international students in 2023/24 was personal and family (54.4 per cent), followed by current employment (21.8), scholarships from USA colleges (19 per cent), and funding by a foreign government or university (1.8).

Outbound study abroad: The Open Doors report also tracks outbound study abroad by US students, which increased by 49 per cent to 280,716 students in 2023/24. Italy, the UK and Spain were the three most popular destinations in that academic year.

2024/25 academic year trends: Meanwhile, the IIE Fall 2024 International Student Enrollment Snapshot report – based on responses from 690 institutions about trends in the current academic year – shows a three per cent rise in total international enrolments, compared with the previous year.

However, new international enrolments dropped by five per cent. Forty-six per cent of institutions indicated an increase in first-year students, while 42 per cent reported a decrease.

Institutions are prioritizing undergraduate outreach/recruitment in India (cited by 65 per cent), Vietnam (58), China (48), and South Korea (44), the authors found, while graduate recruitment is focused on India (81), China (43), Ghana (41), and Nigeria (41).

The majority of institutions (84 per cent) indicated that financial support for international student recruitment is the same or higher than the previous year.

Working with current international students, agents, and international partnerships were the most-cited recruitment efforts.

Further reading: Click here to access the Open Doors data on international students in the USA in 2023/24, and here to access the Fall Enrolment Snapshot on 2023/24.

The Open Doors project is conducted by IIE, which was established in 1919, and sponsored by the Department of State, with funding provided by the government.