Summary

Data released by China's Ministry of Education shows that a total of 703,500 students left Mainland China to study abroad in 2019, an increase of 6.3 per cent compared to the 662,100 who went abroad in 2018. However, the rate of growth declined compared to 8.8 per cent in 2018.

According to the MoE, the number of Chinese students still studying or conducting research overseas as of the end of 2019 was 1.66 million, up 8.0 per cent over 2018.

This information was announced alongside a summary of Chinese achievements in international education over the 13th five-year plan period. A total of 356 joint programmes and institutes at the bachelor’s degree level and above have been approved since the beginning of 2016, in addition to 224 sub-degree partnerships. Joint provincial-ministerial approval procedures for certain kinds of partnerships have been introduced in six regions, giving provincial-level regions a greater say in the approval process. Meanwhile degree recognition agreements have been signed between China and a further 11 countries.

Analysis by Kevin Prest, Senior Analyst, International Education Services

This data refers to the number of students leaving China in 2019. More recent trends in 2020 have seen a very large decline in outbound Chinese students due to the COVID-19 pandemic - for example, the number of UK Tier 4 visas issued to Chinese students in the first three quarters of the year declined by 58 per cent compared to the same period of 2019, and it is likely that not all of these visa holders travelled abroad.

Annual figures for outbound Chinese students are usually released in April the following year but were greatly delayed this year and also contained less detail than before, with no breakdown of publicly-funded vs self-funded students – in 2018 around 90 per cent of outbound Chinese students were self-funded. Data on overseas students studying in China is also typically released at the same time as that for outbound students but is not yet available for 2019.

Comparing the number of outbound Chinese students to the Tier 4 visa statistics the UK's market share of outbound Chinese students increased significantly last year, growing from 15 per cent in 2018 to almost 17 per cent in 2019. This was likely due to increasing tensions between China and the US which made students more likely to choose the UK over America.

Sources: 

1. MoE's announcemtn of 2019 outbound student number: http://www.moe.gov.cn/jyb_xwfb/gzdt_gzdt/s5987/202012/t20201214_505447.html

2. MoE's press conference on Chinese achievements in international education over the 13th five-year plan period: http://www.moe.gov.cn/fbh/live/2020/52834/