Reports

Statistical report on international students in China for 2018

Source: moe.gov.cn
2019-04-18

Figures show that in 2018 there were a total of 492,185 international students from 196 countries/areas pursuing their studies in 1,004 higher education institutions in China’s 31 provinces/autonomous regions/provincial-level municipalities, marking an increase of 3,013 students or 0.62% compared to 2017. International students in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan are not included in the above data.

1.      Number/percent of international students by continent:

Continent

Number

Percent

Asia

295,043

59.95%

Africa

81,562

16.57%

Europe

73,618

14.96%

America

35,733

7.26%

Oceania

6,229

1.27%


2.      Number of international students by country of origin:

Rank

Country

Number

No.1

South Korea

50,600

No.2

Thailand

28,608

No.3

Pakistan

28,023

No.4

India

23,198

No.5

United States

20,996

No.6

Russia

19,239

No.7

Indonesia

15,050

No.8

Laos

14,645

No.9

Japan

14,230

No.10

Kazakhstan

11,784

No.11

Vietnam

11,299

No.12

Bangladesh

10,735

No.13

France

10,695

No.14

Mongolia

10,158

No.15

Malaysia

9,479


3.      The top 10 provinces/cities with the largest number of international students:

Province/City

Number

Beijing

80,786

Shanghai

61,400

Jiangsu Province

45,778

Zhejiang Province

38,190

Liaoning Province

27,879

Tianjin

23,691

Guangdong Province

22,034

Hubei Province

21,371

Yunnan Province

19,311

Shandong Province

19,078

    
There are another five provinces with more than 10,000 international students:

Province

Number

Guangxi Province

15,217

Sichuan Province

13,990

Heilongjiang Province

13,429

Shaanxi Province

12,919

Fujian Province

10,340

 

4. Number/percent of international students by education level: 258,122 international students were enrolled in degree programs, accounting for 52.44% of all foreign students, an increase of 16,579 or 6.86% on 2017. There were 85,062 postgraduate-level international students, an increase of 12.28% compared to 2017, of which 25,618 enrolled as doctoral students and 59,444 in master's degrees. 234,063 international students were enrolled in non-degree programs.

5. Number/percent of international students by source of funding: 63,041 international students (12.81%) received Chinese government scholarships, and 429,144 (87.19%) were self-funded.