By P. Sarojini
Washington, USA (CWBN)_ A news report from the US stated that in the academic year of 2019-2020, Indian students pursuing their studies in the USA contributed around $7.6 billion to the US economy in spite of the decline in the total number.
India ranks second largest source of international students in the US after China.
The “Opens Doors 2020” report said that for the past 16 years, China stood the largest source of international students in the US accounting for 372,000 Chinese students in the 2019-2020 academic year and the number seemed to have increased every year.
However, the percentage of Indian students in US declined by 4.4 per cent and accounted for 193,124 students this year but was able to maintain its second position.
The report released by the US Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the Institute of International Education (IIE) declared that for the past five years, the United States has been registering over 1 million international students (1,075,496) in an academic year.
“We are encouraged to see a fifth year of more than 1 million international students in the United States before the pandemic” the Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs, Marie Royce, stated.
  “International student mobility is as important today as ever, and we believe the United States is the best destination for students to study and earn their degrees. Education is a pathway to a greater future and international educational exchange has the power to transform students” trajectories”, Royce added, highlighting the benefits of an international education.
The report said that among the top 20 sources of international students, the percentage from Bangladesh, Brazil and Nigeria increased respectively by 7%, 4% and 3%. Saudi Arabian students in the US registered a huge decline of 17% mainly due to new scholarship programs offered by the Saudi government.
The percentage of international students for the academic year 2019-2020 registered a slight drop by 1.8% but still accounted for 5.5% of overall students in the US higher education system.
A report from the US Department of Commerce confirmed that in 2019, USD 44 billion was contributed to the US economy by the overall international students.
Edited By Chathushka Perera
