The share of international students increases markedly with the level of tertiary education: accounting for 11% of new entrants at bachelor’s level, 24% at master’s level and 34% at doctoral level on average across OECD countries in 2024, and reaching as high as 87% of doctoral entrants in Luxembourg.
International students are more likely than national students to graduate in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields: on average across the OECD, 30% of international graduates obtained a STEM degree compared to 23% of national graduates, with particularly high shares observed in countries such as in the United States.
Most OECD countries receive a much higher number of international students than the number of national students they send abroad. Australia hosts 45 times more international students than the number of students it sends overseas, while the United Kingdom hosts 18 times more.
Education at a Glance 2026
Inbound international students as a percentage of all students enrolled domestically and outbound international students as a percentage of all national students (whether enrolled domestically or abroad); ISCED levels 5-8
1. Year of reference differs from 2024.
For data, see Table B4.3.The data for this figure can be accessed via https://stat.link/5nvwya.
Context
Participation in tertiary education develops advanced skills and provides access to highly qualified professions. Over the past decade, international student mobility has expanded considerably, with growing numbers of students crossing borders to pursue tertiary studies. This trend increasingly reflects the attractiveness and international reach of education systems, as well as their capacity to respond to rising global demand for advanced skills and specialised expertise (OECD, 2026[1]).
Studying abroad has become a key differentiating experience for young adults, offering access to high-quality education, internationally recognised institutions and specialised learning opportunities that may not be available in their home countries (OECD, 2026[1]). Students’ decisions are shaped by a combination of personal aspirations and structural factors. Improving employability in increasingly globalised labour markets remains a major motivation, while tuition fee policies, financial support mechanisms and the perceived reputation of host institutions also influence destination choices (Beine, Noël and Ragot, 2014[2]; OECD, 2026[1]). The expansion of programmes taught in English in non-English-speaking countries has further facilitated international mobility by reducing linguistic barriers and easing academic and social integration (Ovchinnikova, Jones and Van Mol, 2023[3]; OECD, 2026[1]). Regional frameworks such as the European Higher Education Area have also strengthened mobility within Europe with harmonised degree structures and credit transfer systems.
For host countries, international students represent both an economic contribution and a strategic source of talent. In addition to supporting local economies through their living expenses, these students frequently pay higher tuition fees than domestic students, providing an important source of funding for tertiary institutions (OECD, 2026[1]). Retaining highly skilled graduates may also help countries address labour shortages, strengthen innovation systems and mitigate demographic pressures linked to ageing populations (OECD, 2026[1]; OECD, 2024[4]).
For origin countries, student mobility presents both opportunities and challenges. Although outward mobility may raise concerns about “brain drain”, internationally mobile graduates can also contribute to knowledge transfer, research collaboration and capacity building if they return or maintain professional ties with their home country (Tran and Bui, 2019[5]). International students are particularly concentrated at advanced levels of tertiary education and in STEM fields at doctoral level, reflecting the growing internationalisation of research and doctoral education systems (Marti and Peneoasu, 2025[6]; OECD, 2025[7]).
Other findings
Women represent around half of international new entrants at bachelor’s (51%) and master’s levels (52%) across OECD countries, but remain slightly under-represented at doctoral level, accounting for 45% of international entrants on average.
International student mobility remains highly concentrated, with Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States hosting around half of all international students across the OECD in 2024.
International graduates are also over-represented in business, administration and law (26% compared to 23% among national graduates), but are less likely to graduate from fields closely linked to national labour markets, such as education (4% compared to 11%) and health and welfare (13% compared to 18%).
Note
This chapter focuses on international students, defined as those who have left their country of origin and moved to another country for the purpose of study. However, not all countries are able to report data using this definition and instead provide data on foreign students (as Canada, Colombia, Hungary, Korea, New Zealand, Slovak Republic, Türkiye and the United States), defined as those who are not citizens of the country in which they are enrolled. As a result, this chapter combines both types of data; for consistency, the term international students is used throughout.
Profile of international new entrants
Share of international new entrants by education level
The representation of international students among new entrants increases significantly with the level of tertiary education, a trend reinforced by a growing institutionalisation of doctoral schools that facilitate international talent recruitment (Marti and Peneoasu, 2025[6]). On average across OECD countries in 2024, international students made up 7% of new entrants to short-cycle tertiary programmes, 11% at the bachelor’s level, 24% at the master’s level and 34% at the doctoral level. Although this upward pattern is nearly universal, the degree of internationalisation varies widely. In Luxembourg, international students represent the majority of new entrants at the highest levels, reaching 68% for master’s programmes and 87% for doctoral programmes. Similarly, in New Zealand, 56% of master’s and 63% of doctoral new entrants are internationally mobile. Conversely, in OECD and partner countries such as Colombia, Greece and Peru, international students represent 5% or less of new entrants across all tertiary levels (Figure B4.2).
This concentration of international students at more advanced levels is driven by the perceived quality and international recognition of host institutions, as well as the availability of specialised research opportunities. Structural factors such as tuition fee policies and the language of instruction also play a pivotal role; English-speaking countries like Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and the United Kingdom remain highly attractive destinations, with international students making up at least 45% of doctoral new entrants in these countries (Figure B4.2). Institutional enrolment patterns also vary across institutions within countries, reflecting linguistic and migration-related drivers. In the Netherlands, most international students are enrolled in research universities, attracted by the broad range of English-taught programmes that reduce adaptation costs, whereas more than half of domestic students are enrolled in universities of applied sciences, which are professionally oriented and typically offer instruction in Dutch. In Canada, international students are nearly twice as likely as their domestic peers to attend colleges than universities, which offer shorter, career-oriented programmes to facilitate access to post-graduation work permits and permanent residency (OECD, 2026[1]).
Global student mobility has intensified significantly over the past decade, particularly at the more advanced levels of tertiary education. Between 2015 and 2024, the OECD average share of international students rose by 6 or 7 percentage points at both the master’s level (from 18% to 24%) and the doctoral level (from 27% to 34%). The increases have been particularly striking in Australia, where the share of international entrants to master’s programmes surged from 50% to 64% over this period, and from 39% to 50% at the doctoral level. Other major host countries also saw substantial growth: in the United Kingdom, international students now represent 58% of master’s new entrants, up from 45% in 2015, while in Estonia the share of international new entrants at the doctoral level more than doubled from 20% to 41%. At lower tertiary levels, the increase in the share of international new entrants was more moderate in percentage-point terms, although proportionally similar to the growth observed at master’s and doctoral levels. Between 2015 and 2024, the share of international new entrants at bachelor’s level rose from 8% to 11% on average across OECD countries, and from 5% to 7% for short-cycle tertiary programmes (Table B4.1).
1. Year of reference differs from 2024.
For data, see Table B4.1. The data for this figure can be accessed via https://stat.link/5nvwya.
The sustained expansion of international mobility at advanced tertiary levels coincided with a broader post-pandemic rebound across the OECD. In 2023, international student flows increased by 6.7%, with a record number of over 2.1 million newly granted study visas and residence permits (OECD, 2026[1]). This increase reflects the lifting of pandemic-era travel restrictions and the continued role of international education as a strategic pathway for skilled migration in major host systems (OECD, 2026[1]; OECD, 2024[4]). While the subject of this chapter remains formal degree-seeking international mobility, student mobility increasingly also includes shorter experiential components, such as international internships, which fall outside the scope of the data presented here. These experiences can serve as a practical bridge between higher education and the global labour market (Predovic, Dennis and Jones, 2023[8]; Tran and Bui, 2019[5]).
Share of international new entrants by gender
Gender patterns among international new entrants show that women have achieved parity at initial tertiary levels but remain under-represented at doctoral levels. On average across the OECD, women make up 51% of international new entrants at bachelor’s level and 52% at master’s level but only 45% at the doctoral level, suggesting that gender parity remains slightly less balanced in international research-oriented programmes. There are substantial differences across countries: in Iceland, women represent 68% of international bachelor’s entrants, compared to only 19% in Latvia. At the doctoral level, women form the smallest share of international entrants in Colombia (35%), Latvia (34%) and the Republic of Türkiye (33%), while in New Zealand they account for the majority of international doctoral entrants (55%) (Table B4.1).
Over time, there has been a gradual convergence toward gender parity in international doctoral studies, though progress remains uneven. Since 2015, the share of female international doctoral entrants has risen by 2 percentage points, from 43% to 45% on average across OECD countries (Table B4.1). For some countries the change has been more rapid; for instance, the share of female international doctoral entrants in Estonia rose from 27% to 49% over this period. In contrast, other countries have experienced a widening of the gender gap at this level, such as Colombia, where the share of women among international doctoral entrants fell from 56% in 2015 to 35% in 2024.
Profile of international graduates by field of study
International students are a vital component of STEM education, as they are often significantly more likely than national students to choose these disciplines. On average across the OECD, 30% of international tertiary graduates earned a STEM degree in 2024, compared to 23% of national graduates. In the United States, 53% of international graduates studied a STEM field, compared to 20% of national graduates. Significant over-representation of STEM studies among international graduates is also observed in Denmark (46% of international graduates compared to 23% of national ones) and Iceland (37% compared to 15%). Korea remains a notable exception to this trend, with its national students (32%) twice as likely to graduate from a STEM programme as its international students (16%) (Figure B4.3).
The high concentration of international students in STEM reflects an intense global competition for talent as countries seek to bolster their national innovation ecosystems. STEM curricula also benefit from international standardisation and a common technical language, which facilitates cross-border mobility and results in higher stay-on rates for these graduates compared to other fields (OECD, 2026[1]). Many OECD countries have introduced targeted migration and retention strategies specifically for this group. Since January 2026, Korea has expanded the K-STAR Visa Track for international graduates in STEM fields, widening access to fast-track residence pathways for master’s and doctoral graduates from a broader range of universities in order to facilitate the long-term settlement of highly qualified foreign talent in the country (Kyungpook National University, 2025[9]). Similarly, the United States allows students in STEM fields to extend their Optional Practical Training (OPT) periods beyond the standard duration, granting them additional time to acquire professional experience and seek employment opportunities within the domestic startup ecosystem (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 2022[10]). As doctoral-level research is heavily concentrated in STEM disciplines, these students play a critical role in supporting long-term research and development capacity and mitigating the impact of ageing populations on the future supply of high-level skills (OECD, 2024[4]).
The broader distribution of international graduates also highlights a preference for disciplines with high global transferability. On average, international students were also over-represented in the broad field of business, administration and law, studied by 26% of international graduates in 2024 compared to 23% of national graduates. This concentration is most pronounced in highly internationalised systems such as Australia (where 47% of international graduates studied that field), Canada (44%) and the United Kingdom (43%), roughly double the share among national graduates. Luxembourg exhibits the highest concentration, with 53% of international graduates qualifying in business-related fields (Table B4.2).
In contrast, international students are significantly less likely than their national peers to graduate from the fields of education (4% compared to 11%) and health and welfare (13% compared to 18%). These fields are often more closely tied to domestic labour markets and specific national regulatory frameworks. These distribution patterns are further shaped by institutional barriers, including localised language requirements and the complexity of professional recognition. In the Netherlands, for instance, international graduates are significantly less likely than domestic graduates to work in the government, education and healthcare sectors (OECD, 2026[1]). However, some countries have successfully positioned themselves as regional medical education hubs. In Bulgaria, 47% of international graduates qualified in a health and welfare field, compared to just 10% of national graduates, with significant over-representation also observed in Romania (33% compared to 11% of national graduates) and the Slovak Republic (35% compared to 17% of national graduates). These patterns partly reflect the strong recruitment of international students into medical degree programmes, often through English-language provision targeting students from abroad.
For many host countries, attracting international students into transferable disciplines – such as STEM and business – serves as a strategic tool for addressing local skill shortages. Several OECD countries have expanded post-study work opportunities and retention measures to integrate international talent into the domestic workforce and address local skill shortages (OECD, 2026[1]; OECD, 2024[4]). Although international graduates may initially face a "labour-market penalty" in terms of employment and salaries, longitudinal data from Australia and the Netherlands confirm that this gap narrows significantly within three to five years as graduates gain local experience (OECD, 2026[1]).
For data, see Table B4.2. The data for this figure can be accessed via https://stat.link/5nvwya.
Patterns of inbound and outbound mobility
International student mobility remains a central feature of the global tertiary landscape. On average across OECD countries in 2024, outbound international mobile students account for 6% of all national students (whether enrolled domestically or abroad) while inbound students account for 12% of all students enrolled domestically (Figure B4.1).
The distribution of these students remains highly uneven, with major English-speaking systems acting as primary "net receivers": Australia (32%), Canada (25%), Luxembourg (51%) and the United Kingdom (23%) host the largest shares of international students. Among these, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom also maintain very low outbound shares of 4% or less, whereas Luxembourg does not (Figure B4.1). Although this concentration has been historically driven by the global status of English and institutional prestige, a strategic "policy recalibration" is currently underway in hubs such as Canada and the United Kingdom. In response to acute housing pressures and institutional capacity constraints, authorities are shifting from recruitment-led growth toward a focus on sustainability and system balance (Box B4.1).
In contrast to the major hubs, outbound mobility is particularly high in smaller or regionally integrated systems, where students often seek qualifications abroad to access specialised programmes not available locally. Bulgaria (12%) and the Slovak Republic (21%) remain significant "net senders" of talent, where the share of students going abroad exceeds the share of international students hosted domestically. Changes between 2015 and 2024 show varied patterns: while the Slovak Republic saw a 6 percentage point increase in its outbound share over that period, other countries experienced slight declines, with Norway falling from 7% to 5% and Sweden from 4% to 3% (Figure B4.1).
Luxembourg presents the most striking pattern in the OECD, with an outbound mobility rate of 77% of Luxembourgish tertiary students enrolled abroad. This exceptionally high rate is rooted in two structural factors: the country’s small geographic size and its relatively recently established national university system. These factors require the vast majority of Luxembourgish students to seek degrees in larger, established systems in neighbouring countries. Simultaneously, Luxembourg functions as a highly specialised research magnet, hosting an inbound share of 51% of total enrolment, the highest among OECD countries (Figure B4.1).
Top five origin countries for inbound international students
The geographical origin of international students remains highly concentrated, with the People’s Republic of China and India serving as the primary sources of inbound students for the majority of OECD countries. China is one of the top five origin countries for nearly 20 nations, including Germany, Japan and the United States. Concurrently, India has solidified its role as a leading exporter of students, ranking as the top origin country for major host systems such as Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom. This dominance is particularly evident in English-speaking destinations, where Indian students account for 40% of international inflows to Canada and over 20% of inflows to both the United Kingdom and the United States. Apart from these two global leaders, mobility tends to be defined by regional clusters where geographic and linguistic proximity reduce the "psychological distance" for students (Ovchinnikova, Jones and Van Mol, 2023[3]). For instance, students from Colombia, Ecuador and Peru dominate inflows to Chile and Spain, while historical ties, linguistic and migration also remain influential in France, where four out of the top five origin countries for inbound international students are African countries (Table B4.4) By contrast, Czechia and Poland primarily host students from neighbouring Belarus, the Slovak Republic and Ukraine.
Changes in the past decade underscore the dynamic nature of these flows, most notably the rapid ascent of India as a student origin country. In Germany, India rose from the third most important origin country in 2015 to the first in 2024, while in Ireland, it emerged as the leading origin country over the same period. Geopolitical shifts and regional crises have also abruptly altered student flows; Ukraine has emerged as a top origin country for Lithuania and the Slovak Republic, reflecting displacement triggered by war, while the rise of Venezuela as a top origin country in Chile and Colombia underscores the impact of large-scale regional migration (Table B4.4)
Top five destination countries for outbound international students
The global landscape of destination countries in 2024 remains dominated by a few high-profile host systems, with the top five destination countries (Australia, Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States) together welcoming almost 60% of all international students moving to OECD countries. The United Kingdom and the United States continue to attract students from diverse regions due to the global status of English and the prestige of their institutions. Within Europe, Germany serves as the primary regional hub, appearing among the top five destinations for nearly every reporting country on the continent, as well as for students from Australia, Japan and Korea (Table B4.4). This concentration highlights the enduring pull of systems offering high-quality research environments and strong labour-market prospects, often reinforced by a "network effect" where existing skilled diasporas act as a magnet for new arrivals (Beine, Noël and Ragot, 2014[2]).
Trends in destination choices indicate a gradual diversification of the mobility market as regional hubs have gained prominence between 2015 and 2024. For instance, the Netherlands has emerged as a dominant regional hub, ascending to the top destination for outbound students from Belgium, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania by 2024, while also ranking as the second most preferred choice for those from Finland, Germany, Ireland and Portugal. This shift reflects the expansion of English-taught programmes and competitive tuition structures in Continental Europe, although recent Dutch policy discussions have begun to focus on rebalancing this internationalisation to manage system capacity (OECD, 2026[1]). Regional mobility patterns have also evolved in recent years. Australia remains one of the main destinations for students from New Zealand, reflecting longstanding geographic and cultural ties, while Japan has emerged among the top five destinations for Australian students studying abroad. These evolving patterns suggest that while traditional hubs maintain their dominance, students are increasingly seeking destinations that offer a balance between institutional quality and favourable post-study opportunities (Table B4.3).
International student mobility has become an increasingly important component of tertiary education policies across OECD and partner countries. As well as their contribution to campus internationalisation, international students are often viewed as a source of skilled labour, research capacity, innovation and long-term demographic renewal. As a result, many governments have developed dedicated policy frameworks to increase their attractiveness to international students, combining immigration reforms, financial incentives, labour-market opportunities and internationalisation strategies. More recently, however, several major host countries have introduced measures aimed at regulating or slowing inflows in response to pressures related to housing, infrastructure and migration management (OECD, 2026[1]).
National strategies to strengthen international attractiveness
Many countries have adopted explicit internationalisation strategies combining recruitment targets, national branding and improved student services. Finland’s Talent Boost programme aims to triple the number of foreign students by 2030 (Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment of Finland, 2023[11]), while Japan has set a target of hosting 400 000 international students by 2033, building on earlier internationalisation plans (Prime Minister's Office of Japan, 2023[12]). Korea launched the Study Korea 300K Project in 2024, aiming to attract 300 000 international students by 2027 through simplified visa procedures, stronger institutional support and the expansion of English-taught programmes (Government of Korea, 2023[13]).
Bilateral and regional partnerships also play an important role in internationalisation strategies. Rather than focusing solely on recruitment targets, some countries seek to strengthen academic and research ties with specific partner countries. For example, Norway has recently strengthened its co-operation with France and Germany through dedicated strategic agreements, which include higher education and research among their areas of collaboration. Such partnerships can support student mobility and foster long-term academic links between countries (Government of Norway, 2025[14]; Government of Norway, 2023[15]).
Policies facilitating access and reducing administrative barriers have also contributed to mobility growth. Canada progressively expanded its Student Direct Stream between 2018 and 2021 to accelerate visa processing for students from selected countries meeting language and financial requirements (Government of Canada, 2024[16]). In Europe, the Bologna Process and the European Higher Education Area have continued to support regional mobility through the harmonisation of degree structures and recognition systems, helping reduce administrative and academic barriers across participating countries (EHEA, 2026[17]). Bilateral agreements have also played an increasing role. Australia and India introduced a mutual recognition mechanism for academic qualifications in 2023 (Australian Government, 2023[18]), while Canada and Finland signed a Youth Mobility Agreement in 2024 to facilitate educational and professional exchanges (Government of Canada, 2024[19]).
Linking international education with skills and migration strategies
An increasing number of policies now link international education with skilled migration and labour-market integration. Australia and Canada expanded post-study work opportunities during the late 2010s and early 2020s, allowing graduates to remain in the country for several years after graduation to gain professional experience (Australian Government, 2023[20]; Government of Canada, 2024[21]). Canada’s Post-Graduation Work Permit aimed to improve the retention of highly skilled graduates, including in sectors facing labour shortages (Government of Canada, 2024[21]), while the United Kingdom’s Graduate Route aims more broadly to retain skilled graduates after the completion of their studies. Germany reinforced this approach in 2024 through the DAAD Campus-Initiative for International Talents, designed to facilitate the transition from higher education to employment (DAAD, 2025[22]; DAAD, 2024[23]).
Financial support measures remain another important policy instrument, although approaches vary considerably across countries. France expanded scholarship opportunities for international students through programmes such as the Eiffel Scholarship (Campus France, 2024[24]). Germany remains distinctive among major host countries in maintaining very low tuition fees in most public institutions, which contributes to its attractiveness among international students (DAAD, 2024[23]). In contrast, Australia and the United Kingdom rely more heavily on international tuition fees, which have become an important source of funding for tertiary institutions and, in some cases, research activities (Australian Government, 2024[25]; Cuibus, Walsh and Němeček, 2025[26]).
Managing capacity pressures and regulating student inflows
Since 2023, several major destination countries have introduced measures aimed at regulating or slowing the growth of international student inflows. These reforms are generally presented as responses to pressure on housing markets, infrastructure capacity, migration systems or quality assurance. Australia replaced the Genuine Temporary Entrant requirement with a stricter Genuine Student test in 2024 and strengthened English-language and financial capacity requirements (Australian Government, 2023[20]) and introduced a prioritisation system for offshore student visa processing (Australian Government, 2026[27]). Canada introduced a temporary cap on new study permits in 2024 and significantly increased proof-of-financial-support thresholds for applicants (Government of Canada, 2024[28]). The United Kingdom restricted the ability of most international students to bring dependants from January 2024 (UK Government, 2023[29]).
Although these restrictive measures remain recent, available data already suggest an impact on new inflows. The number of newly issued residence permits for tertiary-level students declined by 13% across the OECD between 2023 and 2024, particularly in Canada (-39%), Australia (-22%), the United Kingdom (-14%) and the United States (-12%) (OECD, 2025[30]). These developments suggest that international student policies are entering a new phase in which some countries continue to compete for global talent while increasingly seeking to balance the attraction of students with domestic economic, social and infrastructure constraints.
Foreign students are defined solely by their citizenship. This group includes not only internationally mobile students but also "non-mobile" foreign citizens who may have been born in the host country or have lived there as permanent residents for many years prior to enrolling in tertiary education. Because naturalisation policies vary significantly between nations, data based on citizenship should be interpreted with caution; for example, a country with restrictive citizenship laws may report a higher share of "foreign students" than a country that grants residence or citizenship more easily, even if the actual number of new arrivals is lower. In this chapter, the term "international students" is used as the default analytical category, but it incorporates "foreign students" for countries unable to provide mobility-based data.
Inbound mobility refers to international students hosted by a reporting country, while outbound mobility refers to students from a reporting country who are enrolled in tertiary programmes abroad. The host country is the nation where the student is currently enrolled and the “country of destination" is the term used from the perspective of an outbound student.
International students are those who left their country of origin and moved to another country specifically to pursue a degree. The country of origin is ideally defined as the "country of prior education" (the country where the student obtained the qualification required to enter their current level of study) or the "country of upper secondary education". Where these criteria cannot be met, the "country of usual residence" is used. International students are the most accurate measure of student mobility as they exclude long-term residents with foreign citizenship.
National students (or domestic students) are those who are not internationally mobile. This group consists of students whose citizenship or prior education matches the reporting country. It should be noted that some "local" students may still have immigrant backgrounds or have lived abroad previously, but for the purpose of mobility statistics, they are classified as non-mobile.
New entrants are students enrolling for the first time in a specific tertiary level of education (ISCED 5, 6, 7 or 8).
Stay-on rates: the proportion of students who remain in their host country after graduation.
STEM fields include the broad disciplines of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. These fields are characterised by high global demand and transferable curricula, often leading to higher stay-on rates for international graduates compared to other fields.
Defining and identifying mobile students, as well as their types of learning mobility, are a key challenge for developing international education statistics, since current international and national statistical systems only report domestic educational activities undertaken within national boundaries (OECD, 2018[31]).
Data on international and foreign students are therefore obtained from enrolments in their countries of destination. This is the same method used for collecting data on total enrolments, i.e. records of regularly enrolled students in an education programme.
The share of inbound international students refers to the proportion of all tertiary students enrolled in the reporting country who are internationally mobile.
For OECD countries, the share of outbound international students refers to the proportion of students from the reporting country studying abroad relative to the total tertiary student population originating from that country (students enrolled domestically plus students enrolled abroad).
Data refer to the 2023/24 academic year and are based on the UNESCO-Institute of Statistics (UIS)/OECD/Eurostat data collection on education statistics administered by the OECD in 2025. Data for some countries may have a different reference year. For more information see Education at a Glance 2026 Sources, Methodologies and Technical Notes (https://doi.org/10.1787/dcf64a14-en).
The UNESCO Institute of Statistics (UIS) provided some data for Argentina, the People’s Republic of China, India, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Thailand.
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[1] OECD (2026), International Students in Higher Education: A comparative analysis of trends, challenges and policy responses in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, Higher Education, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/005ff28d-en.
[30] OECD (2025), International Migration Outlook 2025, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/ae26c893-en.
[7] OECD (2025), “What are the key trends in international student mobility?”, Education Indicators in Focus, No. 88, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/2a423a76-en.
[4] OECD (2024), International Migration Outlook 2024, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/50b0353e-en.
[31] OECD (2018), OECD Handbook for Internationally Comparative Education Statistics: Concepts, Standards, Definitions and Classifications, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264304444-en.
[3] Ovchinnikova, E., E. Jones and C. Van Mol (2023), The role of language in student mobility, EDUCatt, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/389314343_The_role_of_language_in_student_mobility.
[8] Predovic, D., J. Dennis and E. Jones (2023), Do international and domestic internships differ? How do they compare with other international experiences?, EDUCatt, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/389314536_Do_international_and_domestic_internships_differ_How_do_they_compare_with_other_international_experiences.
[12] Prime Minister’s Office of Japan (2023), Council for the Creation of Future Education, https://japan.kantei.go.jp/101_kishida/actions/202303/_00024.html.
[5] Tran, L. and H. Bui (2019), “International graduates: Navigating the host and home labour markets”, Research Digest, International Education Association of Australia, https://www.ieaa.org.au/common/Uploaded%20files/Research%20Publications/2019/PUB-IEAA-International-Graduates-Navigating-the-Home-and-Host-Labour-Markets-Research-Digest-16.pdf.
[10] U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (2022), Practical Training, https://www.ice.gov/sevis/practical-training.
[29] UK Government (2023), Changes to student visa route will reduce net migration, London, https://www.gov.uk/government/news/changes-to-student-visa-route-will-reduce-net-migration.
The data for the figures and tables in this chapter can be downloaded via https://stat.link/5nvwya.
To access further data and/or other education indicators, please visit the OECD Data Explorer: http://data-explorer.oecd.org/s/4s/.
Data cut-off for the print publication 13 June 2025. Please note that the Data Explorer contains the most recent data.
a – category not applicable; b – break in series; d – contains data from another column; m – missing data; x – contained in another column (indicated in brackets). For further control codes, see the Reader’s Guide.
For further methodological information, see Education at a Glance 2026: Sources, Methodologies and Technical Notes (https://doi.org/10.1787/dcf64a14-en)
1. Year of reference differs from 2015: 2016 for Bulgaria and Latvia; 2017 for Belgium, Canada, Korea and Spain; and 2021 for Japan and Poland.
2. Year of reference for Canada is 2023 instead of 2024
The data for this Table can be accessed via https://stat.link/5nvwya..
Inbound (students hosted) and outbound (students abroad) - ISCED levels 5-8
Note:
- Inbound students refer to internationally mobile tertiary students enrolled in the reporting country. Outbound students refer to tertiary students from the reporting country studying abroad.
-Outbound student data are based on information reported by host countries. Students studying in non-reporting countries or economies may not be covered.
- The share of inbound international students is expressed as a percentage of total tertiary enrolment in the reporting country.
- For OECD countries, the share of outbound international students refers to the proportion of students from the reporting country studying abroad relative to the total tertiary student population originating from that country (students enrolled domestically plus students enrolled abroad). For Argentina, China, India, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Thailand, total tertiary enrolment is used instead as denominator.
- OECD, EU and G20 values correspond to averages in this table, except for Columns 1 to 4, which present totals.
1. Year of reference differs from 2015: 2016 for Colombia and Indonesia; and 2019 for Canada.
2. Year of reference for Canada is 2023 instead of 2024.
The data for this Table can be accessed via https://stat.link/5nvwya.
Note: Inbound students refer to internationally mobile tertiary students enrolled in the reporting country. Outbound students refer to tertiary students from the reporting country studying abroad. Outbound student data are based on information reported by host countries. Students studying in non-reporting countries or economies may not be covered. The figures in parentheses in columns 1 and 2 indicate the share of all international mobile students in the destination country who come from the respective origin country. The figures in parentheses in columns 3 and 4 indicate the share of all international mobile students from the origin country who study in the respective destination country. Country names are not included in the top 5 if the share is below 3%.
1. Year of reference differs from 2015: 2016 for Colombia and Indonesia; and 2019 for Canada.
2. Year of reference for Canada is 2023 instead of 2024.The data for this Table can be accessed via https://stat.link/5nvwya