International Students Return To The U.S., But Chinese Student Numbers Continue To Fall

International student enrollments in the U.S. returned to pre-pandemic levels, according to a new “Open Doors” report from the Institute of International Education. The total number of international students in the U.S. rose by nearly four percent to 948,519 in the 2021-2022 academic year, following a 15% drop in 2020-2021.

“As history has shown us, international exchange bounces back,” said Mirka Martel, head of research, evaluation and learning at IIE. “And less than two years following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, student mobility has rebounded.”

However, even though China remains the biggest source country of international students for the US, there was a nine percent decline in Chinese students. This follows a 15% drop in 2020-2021.

According to the Open Doors report, the decrease on international students from China was due to a 13% decline in undergraduates and a 22% fall in OPT, the falls mitigated somewhat by 4% growth in Chinese graduate enrollments.

China and India – which sent 19% more students to the U.S. in 2021-2022 – make up 52% of all international students in the U.S.

In addition, while enrollments of first-year international undergraduates rose by 20%, total international undergraduate enrollments fell by four percent, indicating that some undergraduates who left the U.S. due to the pandemic may not have returned. In addition, international student numbers in the U.S. remain below one million, a level that was first attained in 2015-2016 and sustained through 2019-2020.

International graduate students saw the largest rebound, rising by 17% and rising above pre-pandemic levels. This marks the first time in a decade that international graduate students outnumbered undergraduates.

According to news reports, international students contributed $33.8 billion to the U.S. economy, up over $10 billion from the previous year. However, this remains significantly below the $44.7 billion contribution of international students in 2018-2019.