The Chinese have been the most dominant group of foreign students studying in the United States for a long time. But they have always received healthy competition from the Indians who have increased their presence in the States over the years. The latest data reveals that Indians have outnumbered the Chinese for the first time when it comes to postgraduate degrees in the USA.
There are more than 1.65 lakh Indians enrolled in a post graduate degree in the United States for the academic year 2022-23. This number grew steeply by a margin of 63 percent. In comparison, there were around 1.26 lakh Chinese students undertaking a postgraduate degree in the same academic year.
There are currently more than 2.68 lakh students from India in America with an F-1 visa. This also includes students who have permission to stay and work in the US for a period of three years after the end of their degree.
Both Indians and Chinese together constitute more than 50 percent of the foreign students studying in the USA. In one decade, India’s share doubled from 12 percent to 25 percent in 2022-23.
Indians are behind the Chinese by only 2 percent when it comes to total foreign students in the country and are expected to take the lead pretty soon from the trend.
