The number of international students studying in the United States increased by 7% in the 2012-2013 academic year, according to new data from the Institute of International Education (IIE).
The IIE’s annual Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange found that the number of international students in the United States increased to 819,644.
The flow of students out of the United States also hit record levels, according to the study, with 283,000 students from the United States studying aboard.
The Open Doors report is done each year by IIE and the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
Evan M. Ryan, Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs, said the numbers are good news for those who want to see future generations work together to solve global issues.
“International education promotes the relationship building and knowledge exchange between people and communities in the United States and around the world that are necessary to solve global challenges,” Ryan said in an IIE press release.
Much of the increase in the number of foreign students coming to the United States was driven by students from Saudi Arabia and China. Students from those two countries increased, helping make this the seventh straight year of increases in the number of international students in the U.S. There are now 40% more international students studying in the U.S. then there were a decade ago.
These students spend about $24 billion in the U.S.
Meanwhile, the number of Americans studying abroad has tripled in the past 20 years, according to the IIE report. More Americans attended school in Latin American and China, and there also was a rebound in the number of students in Japan as that country recovered from the 2011 tsunami.
Even with the increases, only about 10% of American college students decide to spend part of their education studying aboard.
“We need to increase substantially the number of U.S. students who go abroad so that they too can gain the international experience which is so vital to career success and deepening mutual understanding,” IIE President Allan E. Goodman said in a press release.
Goodman said exposure to educational opportunities in other countries and with other cultures is vital for the business leaders of tomorrow:
“The careers of all of our students will be global ones, in which they will need to function effectively in multi-national teams. They will need to understand the cultural differences and historical experiences that divide us, as well as the common values and humanity that unite us.”
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