The 2024 Open Doors report has been released from the US Department of State (with additional funding provided by the US Government and implementation support by IIE) and we are here to highlight the trends and most interesting data points. The report looks at international exchange from both an incoming and outgoing perspective, and offers a comprehensive look at the state of international education in terms of numbers and statistics.
It’s important to note the reported timelines when reviewing Open Doors Data. For the 2024 Open Doors Report, the following time periods were reported on:
- Fall 2023 total international student enrollment for the 2023-2024 academic year
- Fall 2022-Summer 2023 study abroad participation
Like last year, the numbers show that we are still working to recover from the impacts of the global pandemic, but the upward trend shows promise of both recovery and growth. International student enrollment is up in Fall 2023 by only .1% this year, but still surpassing pre-covid numbers. Meanwhile, study abroad saw a 49% increase from the previous year (2021-2022). These numbers imply that US students are once again eager to go abroad for academic credit, but there were perhaps some deterrents to attracting new international students to the US for studying and training. And, the impact of the newly elected administration and thus changing immigration regulations remains to be seen until next year’s report.
Although it is not addressed directly in the Open Doors reports, it’s worth noting that NAFSA data has identified international students as contributing more than $40 million to the US economy in 2022-2023. The importance of having international students choosing to study here, in the US, cannot be understated. While a .1% increase shows some growth, the industry will need to work hard over the next six months to see a more promising rise in numbers for the Fall 2024 semester.
Schools leading the way in recruitment and hosting efforts are New York University (27,247 students), Northeastern University (21,023 students) and Columbia University (20,321 students). The majority of international students are coming from India, China, and South Korea, although both China and South Korea saw dips in their total numbers this year. Canada (#4) and Taiwan (#5) are up 4% and 6.1%, respectively. The majority of these students are studying Math & Computer Science, Engineering, and Business & Management, with increases seen in all three of these top areas of study.
As for study abroad, the top 5 destinations for 2022-2023 participants are Italy, United Kingdom, Spain, France, and Ireland. Germany dropped from 5th place to 7th place. Last year, South Korea was the only country in Asia that appeared on the top 25 destinations list; but this year, Japan was the 6th most popular destination along with South Korea (#11), Singapore (#23), and Thailand (#24) making the list. An increase in travel to Asia is another sign of post-pandemic recovery and marks a positive trend in diversifying study locations for US students.
Overall, the numbers from Open Doors provide a positive outlook on the future of international education. At ISI, we are thrilled to see students continuing to choose the US as a study destination and US students continuing to prioritize study abroad as part of their college experience.
For more information about the Open Doors Report, to review high level data, or to purchase the full report, please visit opendoorsdata.org.
Category: International Student Insurance (ISI), International Students in the USA, Study Abroad
Tags: 2024 Open Doors Report, Asia, Columbia University, data points, France, international student insurance, Ireland, New York University, Northeastern University, Spain, study abroad, trends, United Kingdom, US Department of State, US economy
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