Canada and U.S. International Student Flows and Majors

Recently released Institute of International Education (IIE)/U.S. Department of State “Open Doors” data indicate that the total number of international students studying at United States postsecondary institutions in 2022–2023 rebounded from a 15 percent pandemic-fueled decrease between 2019–2020 and 2020–2021. The 2022–2023 total was 1,057,188, including students participating in the federal Optional Practical Training (OPT) program. This total represented an increase of 11.5 percent over 2021–2022’s 948,519 students.¹

Per IIE, that equated to 5.6 percent of the total 2022–2023 U.S. higher education population of 18.9 million students.² To put those numbers in perspective over time, IIE’s data from 1948–1949 (the first year recorded) show a total of 25,464 international students versus a total U.S. higher education population of just over 2.4 million students, or 1.1 percent.³

The greatest numbers of international students in 2022–2023 came from China (27.4 percent), India (25.4 percent), and South Korea (4.1 percent). The year-over-year increase in Indian students from 2021–2022 was 35 percent, the largest year-over-year increase recorded to date. The second-highest increases from individual countries were in international students from Ghana (31.6 percent) and Bangladesh (28.0 percent).⁴

Since roughly half of AGB’s international membership is composed of Canadian institutions as this blog is being written, this AGB Research blog focuses on Canadian data alongside U.S. data to examine selected country-level similarities and differences. According to the IIE 2023 Fast Facts data sheet, 27,876 international students in the U.S. were from Canada in 2022–2023, a 3.2 percent increase over 2021–2022.⁵

As a prefatory note, the two countries’ official statistical agencies and independent data-collecting organizations release data at different times and parse it in different ways. Thus, comparisons will be imperfect; readers interested in learning more are encouraged to consult the troves of data available from both countries.

International Student Flows: Similar, Yet Different

While the Canadian college/university student population overall is much smaller than that in the U.S., at approximately 1.4 million total students⁶ (Universities Canada, 2022, n.p.), the latest available Canadian data from the Canadian Bureau for International Education (see infographic) shows a similar increase in international students: 807,750 international students at all levels at the end of 2022, translating to a 31% increase from 2021 to 2022.⁷

However, as this blog was in pre-publication, Canada’s Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced that Canada will be curtailing the number of international student visas issued over the next two years to crack down on “bad actors” and ease the pressure international students have put on the country’s housing market. In 2024 there will only be about 360,000 undergraduate visas issued, which translates to a 35 percent reduction from 2023’s total. Further, they will be allotted by province and territory according to population.⁸ Minister Miller was quoted as describing targeted institutions as “the diploma equivalent of puppy mills” that gave out “fake degrees,” as well as noting that some Canadian provinces will see their permits reduced by roughly 50 percent to help combat the problem.⁹

Looking at the respective countries’ immigration records for international students,¹⁰ India and China were at the top in both Canada and the U.S. at the end of 2022. India had the largest number of students in Canada and the second-largest number of students in the U.S. China had the largest number of students in the U.S. and the second-largest number of students in Canada.

After that, the countries’ data began to diverge. In Canada, the third largest international student population came from France (unsurprising given shared linguistic and historical ties between France and Canada); the fourth largest from Nigeria; and the fifth largest from Iran. In the U.S., after China and India, the third largest international student population came from South Korea, the fourth largest from Canada, and the fifth largest from Brazil. Some countries, such as Saudi Arabia, had relatively few students studying in Canada (465) by comparison with the United States (at 24,485 students, the ninth-largest international student population in the U.S.).¹¹

This particular disparity can be ascribed to world politics. Specifically, a diplomatic rift between Canada and Saudi Arabia occurred in 2018 after Canada criticized Saudi Arabia’s record on human rights; the two countries only agreed to reestablish diplomatic relations in May 2023.¹² Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of State describes the U.S. relationship with Saudi Arabia partly as one of “robust cultural and educational ties with tens of thousands of Saudi students studying in U.S. colleges and universities.”¹³

Table 1: Ten Most Frequent Countries of Citizenship for International Students, Canada and United States, 2022

Data sources (Canada): Temporary Residents: Study Permit Holders – Monthly IRCC Updates – Canada; Study permit holders by country of citizenship and year in which permit(s) became effective, Open Government Portal.
(U.S.): 2022 All Countries of Citizenship by Number of Active SEVIS Records (ice.gov)

In other Canadian data, the Canadian Bureau for International Education, as noted previously, has an informative infographic that partly covers growing markets for international students inbound to Canada. They note the Philippines (112 percent), Hong Kong (73 percent), and Nigeria (60 percent) as having the largest year-over-year increases from 2021 to 2022.¹⁴

In the U.S., by contrast, the international student markets growing at all-time highs year-over-year from 2021 to 2022 were India (35 percent), Ghana (32 percent), and Nepal and Bangladesh (tied at 28 percent).¹⁵ While Bangladesh, Ghana, and Nepal do not account for large percentages of the total places of origin of international students in the U.S. (respectively 1.3 percent, 0.6 percent, and 1.4 percent of the total),¹⁶ the contrast is interesting.

What Do Canadian Students Come to the United States to Study? What do U.S. Students Go Abroad to Study? (Hint: It’s Not Always STEM)

Looking at both the newly released “Open Doors” data for 2022–2023 and previous data from 2012–2013 (covering a decade of eventful world politics), the results contradict what can seem like an omnipresent narrative of the global dominance of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. In fact, the top major for Canadian students in the United States in both 2012–2013 and 2022–2023 was business/management (see Table 2).

Table 2: Top Five Majors for Canadian Students in United States, 2012–2013 vs. 2022–2023 (%)

* = STEM field
Table adapted from Institute of International Education. (2023). “International Students’ Fields of Study for Selected Places of Origin, 2009/10 – 2022/23,” Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange. Retrieved from https://opendoorsdata.org/.

When looking at international students in Canada in 2020–2021 (the latest available Canadian data), the data were divided into two broad categories: STEM and BHASE (business, humanities, health, arts, social science, and education). As can be seen in Table 3, 62.5 percent of international students were enrolled in BHASE programs.

Table 3: 2020–2021 International Postsecondary Students in Canada by Program Enrollment

Table adapted from Statistics Canada. Table 37-10-0163-01 Postsecondary enrolments, by International Standard Classification of Education, institution type, Classification of Instructional Programs, STEM and BHASE groupings, status of student in Canada, age group and gender

By contrast, IIE data on fields of study for U.S. students going abroad show some differences, even though non-STEM fields are differently grouped, and certain data classifications have changed over time. While the 2020–2021 data in particular were clearly affected by the acute phase of the COVID pandemic, overall patterns are fairly consistent across time.

Overall, dating from 2000–2001, STEM and business have been the most popular fields for U.S. students studying abroad.¹⁷ In 2021–2022, those percentages were respectively 25.6 percent and 20.8 percent of the 188,753 U.S. students abroad. The popularity of business as a field to study abroad is shared with Canada.

Table 4: 2020–2021 U.S. Study Abroad Students by Field of Study (%)

Adapted from Institute of International Education. (2023). “Percent of U.S. Study Abroad Students by Field of Study, 2000/01 – 2021/22,” Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange. Retrieved from https://opendoorsdata.org/.

Immigration Post-International Study

Another factor to consider in comparing Canadian and U.S. international student flows is post-graduation immigration options for those who do not wish to return to their countries of origin for whatever reason (e.g., job prospects in their degree field being more robust in Canada or the United States than in their country of origin). According to CBIE’s 2021 survey of international students in Canada, cited in their most recent infographic above, 72.5 percent planned to apply for a post-graduation work permit and 60 percent planned to apply for permanent residence in Canada.¹⁸ According to the 2022 Annual Report to Parliament on Immigration, a total of 22,682 international students previously holding study permits were admitted to Canada as permanent residents in 2021 (Fraser, 2022, 19).¹⁹ The same report also notes that “Immigration is crucial to Canada’s economic growth” and “International students make a significant contribution to the Canadian economy, with some estimating they contributed $23.5 billion to Canada’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2019” (Fraser, 2022, 9).²⁰

In the United States, new international graduates must apply for the same H-1B visa as other types of immigrants. Further, the H-1B visa is capped at 65,000 new visas (or statuses) per fiscal year across all categories of applicants. There is an exemption for “20,000 petitions filed on behalf of beneficiaries with a master’s degree or higher from a U.S. institution of higher education” (USCIS, 2023, n.p.). In addition, “H-1B workers who are petitioned for or employed at an institution of higher education or its affiliated or related nonprofit entities, a nonprofit research organization, or a government research organization, are not subject to this numerical cap” (USCIS, 2023, n.p.).²¹ However, the policy difference means that these graduates’ prospects of immigrating to America may be more limited than those of their Canadian counterparts.

Conclusions

Canada and the United States share a land border and excellent education options beyond the high school diploma, which obviously contributes to student traffic between the two countries. However, they have distinct differences in international student flows when looking beyond China and India (the top countries sending students to both the United States and Canada in the most recent data). Postsecondary governing boards may wish to determine the feasibility of international student recruitment from more than just the most popular countries, given that the competition for students is truly global.

Canada and the United States also have different mixes of fields their citizens choose to study abroad. Delving into the many possible reasons is beyond the scope of this blog. However, trustees, presidents, and other stakeholders may wish to do so as appropriate for their strategic planning.

Takeaways

• The international admissions market mix continues to be fluid and affected by countries’ post-study immigration regulations, as well as lingering COVID effects and world politics.
• China and India send the most international students to both Canada and the United States—creating both mutual opportunities and competition between Canadian and American colleges and universities.
• Trustees at institutions based in Canada or the United States have a wealth of data available to them on international-student flows and other aspects of student demographics (including cross-border flow between Canada and the United States).

Data Resources

• Facts and Figures – CBIE – Canadian Bureau for International Education data.
• IIE Open Doors (opendoorsdata.org) – Institute of International Education, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, data on U.S. study abroad, international students within the U.S., international scholars, and more.
• Student and Exchange Visitor Information System | ICE – U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Student and Exchange Visitor Program site. Offers “SEVIS by the Numbers” both in annual report form and an interactive monthly mapping form, fact sheets, and a data set.
• Statistics Canada: Canada’s national statistical agency (statcan.gc.ca) – National Canadian statistical office. Postsecondary education data can be found within Data (statcan.gc.ca) under “Education, training, and learning.”
• Temporary Residents: Study Permit Holders – Monthly IRCC Updates – Canada – Study permit holders by country of citizenship and year in which permit(s) became effective, Open Government Portal – from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

Lesley McBain, Ph.D., is AGB’s director of research.

Notes