As the year comes to a close, the ICEF Monitor offered the following survey on international education benchmarks and goals from the world’s ten leading study destinations:

  • United States: In 2015, the US experienced a 10% increase in international student enrollment. It does not have a firm target for inbound enrollment but hopes to increase American students studying overseas to 600,000 by 2017/18.
  • United Kingdom: The UK experienced a 3% increase in non-EU enrolment with 310,195 non-EU students enrolled in 2013/14. The British Treasury has set a goal to recruit 55,000 students by 2020.
  • China: IIE’s Project Atlas noted that China’s international enrollment grew by 15% over the last two years with 377,054 students in 2014. China’s official target is to attract 500,000 foreign students by 2020.
  • Germany: Germany’s international enrollment grew by 7% between 2013 and 2014 with 301,000 international students. Its target is to enroll 350,000 international students by 2020.
  • France: In 2014, France hosted 298,000 internationals, a 7% increase from 2012. It is aiming to enroll approximately 470,000 foreign students by 2025.
  • Australia: According to the IIE Project Atlas framework, Australia hosted 269,752 international students. But according to the Australian Department of Education and Training data, which includes VET, English language training, and schools, it enrolled 464,787 international students through to June 2015. No target mentioned.
  • Canada: According to the Canadian Citizenship and Immigration reports, Canada hosted 336,497 international students in 2014 - a 83% increase from 2008. It aims to reach 450,000 international students by 2022.
  • Japan: After years of stagnant growth, Japan’s international enrollment spike in 2014 with 184,155 foreign students. According to Project Atlas, 140,000 of those students were from higher education. The country aims to host 300,000 by 2020.
  • Malaysia: Malaysia hosted 135,000 international students in 2014 and aims almost double this to 250,000 students by 2025.
  • New Zealand: New Zealand hosted 110,198 foreign students in 2014 - a 13% increase from 2013. Its international education sector is valued at NZ$2.85 billion, and hopes to increase that value to NZ$5 billion by 2025.

The data provided does not indicate the level of study. To dig deeper into the data, please follow the links in the article below.