As to why international students are of enormous importance in the United States economy.
For several decades, the United States has remained the leading destination for international students of all nationalities. They receive 20% of the 5.3 million students enrolled in higher education abroad. It is no wonder that the country has 14 of the 20 most global universities in the world.
The Visual Capitalist website recently published a study on the series of factors that prove the economic importance of foreign students to the United States, with different numbers, data and statistics. Check out ten of them below!
1. Drop in the number
The United States is still the most popular destination for students worldwide. However, the number of people enrolled in a country institution for the first time has dropped in the past three years.
Between 2015 and 2016, the enrollment was 300,743 students. Between 2018 and 2019, it increased to 269,383. This is a warning reason for the country because the economy depends on the investment made by international students as the following facts prove …
2. Innovation and growth
By choosing to study in the United States, foreign students also contribute to the country’s innovation and growth. In the 2018/2019 academic year alone, the value of the direct contribution of the education sector to the country’s economy was the fourth largest in the country, behind only the automobile, commercial air and pharmaceutical sectors.
Despite being based on data on tuition fees and cost of living, the $ 41 billion raised by the sector does not even represent the full real amount, which may be even higher. Foreign students, academics and researchers, even after graduating, continue to contribute to the national economy.
3. Global competitiveness
The higher education of the United States attracts the most brilliant minds in the world and this helps to maintain its international competitiveness in the country. Among the American Nobel prizes in Chemistry, Physics and Medicine since 2000, 40% have been awarded to immigrants.
4. Startups
Twenty-three percent of all billion dollar startups in the United States were founded or co-funded by an international student.
5. Global leaders
More than any other country, 62 of the largest global leaders have gone through higher education in the United States.
6. Interactional promotion of American higher education
Students who graduate in the United States and then return to their home countries tend to continue to appreciate and promote American culture wherever they are.
This helps to publicize the quality of American higher education and instigate its international leadership around the world. And the best: voluntarily due to the level of satisfaction of students in relation to the training they received.
7. California and New York
California and New York are the two North American states that receive the most international students and, consequently, that benefit the most economically:
Los Angeles:
- Where is Silicon Valley, the nucleus of technology, innovation and startups in the country;
- 161,700 international students enrolled in the 2018/2019 academic year;
- Economic impact of $ 6.8 billion;
- The University of Southern California receives the most foreign students in the state.
New York:
- Known as the cultural and financial nucleus of the world;
- 124,300 international students enrolled in the 2018/2019 academic year;
- Economic impact of $ 5.3 billion;
- New York University receives the most foreign students in the state.
8. Big names
Some of the most successful entrepreneurship names in the world were formed in the United States. Here are two examples:
- Elon Musk, creator of Tesla and Paypal, is from South Africa. He completed two bachelor’s degrees at the University of Pennsylvania.
- Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s CEO, moved from India to pursue her master’s degree at the University of Wisconsin and then an MBA at the University of Chicago.
9. Denied visas
According to a NAFSA survey of 509 American higher education institutions, these were the top five reasons why the number of students enrolled in the country has fallen in the past three years:
- Student visas denied;
- Country’s socio-political environment;
- They chose to study in another country;
- Teaching fees value;
- The feeling of not being welcome.
10. You are welcome here!
As can be seen, the two main reasons have nothing to do with the quality of teaching at American universities. And there is an ongoing effort to make foreign students feel welcome and welcomed by them. That was how the #YouAreWelcomeHere campaign came about in order to continue to encourage international students to travel to the United States.