A record number of foreign students are studying at US institutions of higher education, according to a recent report from the Institute of International Education.  The annual study, Open Doors 2000, shows that enrollment of foreign students is up five percent this year, with 514,723 international students at US colleges and universities.

The United States has long been a destination for international students, but in the past two years there has been a noticeable trend of increasing numbers of foreign students, coming off a few years of little growth.  While the US is still the most popular destination for foreign students, it is no longer the dominant figure that it once was.  Ten years ago 40% of all international students were in the US; today the number is closer to 30%.  Despite their small numbers as a percent of the entire population in the US seeking higher education, only three percent, they contribute $12 billion to the US economy annually.

One trend that is increasingly noticeable is the rising number of foreign students attending US community colleges.  Since 1993 the number of foreign students enrolled at community colleges has grown by almost 50%, with 85,817 international students enrolled during the 1999-2000 academic year.  The editors of the report see this is as a tremendous benefit to US students attending community college, creating an international atmosphere for US students who do not have many opportunities to study abroad themselves.

This is a table showing the ten countries that send the most foreign students to the US, with the percentage change in the number of students from the 1998-1999 to the 1999-2000 academic year.

Country	1998-1999 totals	1999-2000 totals	Percentage change
China	51,001	54,466	6.8
Japan	46,406	46,872	1.0
India	37,482	42,337	13.0
South Korea	39,199	41,191	5.1
Taiwan	31,043	29,234	-5.8
Canada	22,746	23,544	3.5
Indonesia	12,142	11,300	-6.9
Thailand	12,489	10,983	-12.1
Mexico	9,641	10,607	10.0
Turkey	9,377	10,100	7.7

The Open Doors 2000 report is available online at http://www.opendoorsweb.org/Lead%20Stories/international_studs.htm

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