Vietnam had 130,000 students studying abroad with approximately 90 percent being self-funded in 2015, according to a government report submitted to the National Assembly on October 18  – reports VietNamNet Bridge.

Japan has become the top destination with over 38,000 students (29.2 percent of total number of Vietnamese students overseas). Australia ranks second with 31,000 students (23.8 percent), followed by the US with 28,000 students (21.5 percent). The other popular destinations include China with 13,000 students (10 percent), the UK with 11,000 students (8.4 percent).

There are 5,519 government scholars now studying in 44 countries, including 2,501 PhDs, 580 Master, 63 trainees and 2,375 first degree students.

Other countries are trying to attract Vietnamese students with increasing number scholarships, e.g. Hungary grants 100 scholarships in 2016 instead of five in the past, while Russia 800 scholarships instead of 400, and the figure is expected to rise to 1,000 by 2018.

Meanwhile, Vietnam aims to upgrade its education system to attract international students. It requires significant improvements in the higher education system. Four outstanding higher education issues identified include upgrading training quality, granting autonomy to institutions, conducting institutional accreditation, and improving scientific research. Vietnam currently has only 2,000 foreign students studying in the country.  

Source

More Vietnamese students study abroad, but few foreigners enrol in VN (VietNamNet)
http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/education/166725/more-vietnamese-studen...

Analysis by Nga Bui, Education Services Manager

• Vietnam remains an undergraduate market, and this is applicable for all destinations, although it is not the case for students sent abroad through the government scholarship schemes.

• Japan grows 41 percent in 2015 as compared to 2014 thanks to their strengthened strategic partnership with Vietnam alongside increased scholarships with post-study work opportunities for Vietnamese students.

• Number of students in Australia may not be comparable as it takes the number of courses enrolled rather than number of students; also the number of ELICOS students accounts for nearly one-fourth.

• A large portion of the number of students in the US go to higher education through community colleges.

• The UK saw a sharp decrease in the number of Master students in 2016, mostly due to the visa policy not supporting post-study work. UK institutions are advised to introduce Master programmes intertwined with internship elements with the course duration lasting for one and a half or two years.