Summary

According to data released by China's Ministry of Education there were 492,185 international students studying in the country in 2018. This represents growth of less than one per cent, much slower than last year. But growth in students studying for Chinese HE qualifications was much stronger at 6.9 per cent, and these students now make up more than half of all foreign students in the country.

The MoE's figures reveal that the top three sending countries were South Korea, Thailand and Pakistan - the same as last year. However, growth trends varied substantially by country. Thailand, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Laos all saw very strong growth, along with Africa as a whole and smaller Asian markets, while major sending markets including South Korea and the USA saw significant drops.

The breakdown by level of study reveals that postgraduate students have seen the strongest growth - up more than a third compared to two years ago and exceeding 85,000 students - while undergraduates (including diploma students) increased over 18 per cent to around 173,000. This contrasts with students who were not studying for a Chinese HE qualification (mainly language and exchange students) whose numbers decreased by 6 per cent compared to last year.

Figures do not include incoming students from Hong Kong, Macao or Taiwan, but also exclude international students studying in those territories.

Analysis by Kevin Prest, Senior Analyst, British Council International Education Services

Although China's total overseas student population as a whole showed little growth in 2018, the continuing growth in students studying for local HE qualifications shows that the country is still committed to enhancing its presence in the international education market. Meanwhile a large part of the decrease in non-degree students is due to a sharp drop in students from South Korea; this is likely related to political tensions in 2017-18 as a result of that country's deployment of the THAAD missile defence system.

There is also a noticeable trend of much stronger growth in students from certain regions. There was a very large increase in students from Africa and Asia, particularly South Asian countries such as Pakistan, India and Bangladesh, compared with much lower growth in Europe and a decrease in students from the Americas and Australasia, reflecting China's increasing attractiveness to students from less-developed countries. This is driven by an expansion in scholarships offered to students from Africa and China’s partners in the Belt and Road Initiative, as well as the lower costs of Chinese universities compared to other major destination countries and their increasing prominence in international rankings.

Source

Ministry of Education - Statistics of International Students in China in 2018 (in Chinese): http://www.moe.edu.cn/jyb_xwfb/gzdt_gzdt/s5987/201904/t20190412_377692.html