Global Flow of Tertiary-Level Students

Where do students go to study? Where do they come from? UIS data on the mobility of students shed light on the shifting demand for higher education, particularly in the developing world.
To explore the data select a country from the menu, or click on the map.
More students pursuing higher education abroad
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 78% in a decade.
East Asia and the Pacific is the largest source of international students, representing 28% of the global total. Students from China make up one-half of this figure, or 17% of the total. The United States, Australia, and Japan are their main destinations for study.
North America and Western Europe follows, accounting for 15% 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 17% of mobile students from sub-Saharan Africa in 2010. Nonetheless, France remains the region's top destination, receiving 19% of students.
The Arab States has also seen a steady rise in outbound students over the past ten years, accounting for 7% 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 4% of its tertiary-age population; whereas approximately 2,500 students studied abroad, or 14% of tertiary-age population. In  other words, 18% of the population of university age were enrolled in higher education programmes. 
For more statistics on students flows into and out of more than 100 countries, please visit the UIS Centre de données.
* 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.
Additional resources:

• Learn more about student mobility in sub-Saharan Africa.
• The UIS produces a range of indicators to track trends in higher education.
• Chiao-Ling Chien, a UIS data analyst, outlines the major trends in women’s pursuit of higher education.