While some countries’ tallies have ebbed and flowed, the number of mainland Chinese students attending universities in Georgia has been on a steady upward trajectory since 2000, with the country’s share of international students here climbing to nearly 29 percent this year.
In a year where Georgia’s foreign student total grew by 6.7 percent to 17,781, China’s share was up three points from 26 percent last year, according to the annual Open Doors report. That’s not even including Hong Kong or Taiwan. The latter makes up another 2.1 percent of Georgia’s international student population.
It may sound formidable, but Georgia’s Chinese student tally trails the national average. Some 274,000 of the record 886,052 foreign students enrolled in various U.S. institutions – about 31 percent – hailed from the Chinese mainland. There are now five times as many Chinese students in the U.S. than when the Institute of International Education began compiling the report 15 years ago.
On a national basis, Saudi Arabia, Brazil and Kuwait saw their totals jump substantially thanks to government scholarships aimed at encouraging overseas study. Bolstered by a brand new program, Kuwait’s total shot up 43 percent, with Saudi Arabia and Brazil posting 21 percent and 22 percent growth, respectively. India also returned to growth after three years of decline.
In Georgia, the top five sending countries were China, India (14 percent), South Korea (12.7 percent), Saudi Arabia (3.2 percent) and Taiwan (2.1 percent).
The top hosting institutions in the state were:
1. Georgia Institute of Technology – 5,068
2. Emory University – 2,469
3. University of Georgia – 1,837
4. Savannah College of Art and Design – 1,801
5. Georgia State University – 1,744
These five schools made up 72 percent of the state’s foreign student population; all experienced growth compared with last year.
Higher education continued to be a key export, with foreign students spending $545.3 million in Georgia, a 9 percent increase over the previous year.
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