The 10 foreign countries that send the most students to American colleges

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February 6, 2017 5:21 PM

The number of foreign students in American schools has been surging over the past decade, and numbers are up again, according to data from the US Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the Institute of International Education (IIE).

The number of foreign students in American schools has been surging.

The trend is noteworthy in light of President Donald Trump's recent executive order that bars citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen from entering the US for 90 days. Some experts believe that the ban could have far-reaching implications on enrollment at US colleges.

Foreign students in the US were up 7.1% from academic year 2015-16 with 1,043,839 students total, and international students now make up 5.2% of all higher education students in the US.

The influx of foreign students is vital for American universities, and especially public universities, which have become increasingly dependent on foreign students to fund their budgets.

Here are the 10 foreign countries that send the most students to American colleges:

10. Mexico

With a population of about 122 million, Mexico sent 16,733 of its students to the US for college academic year 2015-16.

9. Japan

Japan, which has a population of about 127 million, had 19,060 of its citizens attend American colleges.

8. Brazil

Of the roughly 200 million people in Brazil, 19,370 went to the US for college.

7. Taiwan

Taiwan has close to 24 million people in it, and 21,127 went to college in America.

6. Vietnam

Vietnam has a population of about 90 million — 21,403 went to school in the US.

5. Canada

America's neighbor to the north, Canada, has a population of about 35 million, and 26,973 of them attended a US college.

4. South Korea

South Korea has a population of close to 50 million and 61,007 of its people went to college in the US.

3. Saudi Arabia

With a population of about 29 million, Saudi Arabia sent 61,287 of its students to the US for college.

2. India

India is the second largest country by population in the world with about 1.3 billion — 165,918 of its students went to an American college.

1. China

The most populous country in the world with about 1.4 billion people, 328,547 Chinese students went to college in the US.

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