• We LOVE global education! And, while global education is important every week of the year, we take special note of the importance of our field for International Education Week, which is November 14^th through the 18^th  this month. Our field is one driven by passion, understanding, awareness, and collaboration, and International Education Week is a time to celebrate all those qualities.

  To kick off the celebration of IEW week, we thought we would share some bite-sized stats about the good work being done in our field. Here are some quick stats around international education and studying abroad:

• “During the 2019-2020 school year, approximately 1,075,496 foreign-born students were enrolled at U.S. colleges and universities, representing 4.6% of the total U.S. student population.” (Source)

• “In the 2018-2019 school year, international students contributed a combined 39 billion to the economy and supported more than 400,000 jobs across the U.S.” (Source)

• "1.46 million students from abroad were undertaking tertiary level studies across the EU in 2020.” (Source)

• “In 2020, students from abroad who were studying in Germany accounted for 25% of the EU total; the next largest shares were 17% in France and 9% in the Netherlands.” (Source)

• “In 2020, over 5.6 million students chose to reap the huge benefits of studying abroad. However, this figure is expected to hit nearly 8 million by 2025 if the current rate of growth continues.” (Source)

• “Australia has the highest percentage of international students relative to its overall student body.” (Source)

• And lastly, view this interactive map by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development showing international student mobility and the % of students enrolled in tertiary education in 2020.

The impact of COVID on our field was a devastating one. Between borders closing, universities halting activity, and the general air of uncertainty, the international education field took a destructive hit. However, numbers are looking encouraging, and we can just feel that the whole sector is posed for a strong comeback. What do you expect to see in the next year or so for global educators and study abroad programs? Do any of the shared statistics surprise you? Let us know!

Sources:

1. FWD.us. (2022, September 14). International Students & Graduates in the U.S. FWD.us. Retrieved November 7, 2022, from https://www.fwd.us/news/international-students/

2. Learning Mobility Statistics. EuroStat Statistics Explained. (2022, June). Retrieved November 7, 2022, from https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Learning_mobility_statistics

3. Studee Ltd. (2022). 10 most popular countries for international students. Most Popular Countries For International Students - Best Countries to Study Abroad. Retrieved November 7, 2022, from https://studee.com/guides/10-most-popular-countries-for-international-students/

4. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2022). Students - International Student Mobility - OECD data. theOECD. Retrieved November 7, 2022, from https://data.oecd.org/students/international-student-mobility.htm#indicator-chart

The mission of the Global Leadership League is to ignite change across the global education field by empowering, connecting, and training leaders. We invite you to reach out to us here or learn more about becoming a member.