Indians studying in US increased by 3% in 2018-19 academic year: Report

The number of Indians studying in the United States increased by almost three per cent to over 2 lakh in the 2018-19 academic year, according to a report.

Indians make up over 18 per cent of all international students in the US and the number of foreign students is at an all-time high in 2018-19, the fourth consecutive year with more than 10 lakh international students, according to the 2019 Open Doors Report on International Education Exchange.

The Open Doors report, conducted by the US-based Institute of International Education (IIE), is an annual survey of foreign students and scholars studying in the country and American students studying abroad in credit-bearing courses.

"Student exchanges between our two countries help strengthen the foundation upon which our strategic partnership is built," Charisse Phillips, US Embassy minister counsellor for consular affairs, said at the launch of the report in Delhi on Monday.

"Indian students are looking for a great education and the United States offers the best return on this investment," Phillips said.

According to the report, data from the US Department of Commerce stated that international students contributed USD 44.7 billion to the economy in 2018, an increase of 5.5 per cent from the previous year.

For the tenth consecutive year, China has remained the largest source of international students in the US in 2018-19 with 3,69,548 students. India is second with 2,02,014 students, the report said.

"Our system of education offers practical application and experience, which gives any graduate an advantage in the job market," Karl Adam, culture affairs first secretary, said.

"We want to help Indian students with credible and official information on studying in the United States and that's why we have seven advising centres across India and a free mobile app called Education USA India, which is available both on iOS and Android," Adam added.