The fact that Canada is by now a top destination in international education is undeniable, but the pace at which it is climbing to the very top is something worth following.
Between 2016 and 2017 the number of international students placed in Canadian universities increased by 20% reaching 494,525, recently published statistics show.
When looking at the period between 2010 – 2017 the increase is much more impressive. From 2010 to 2017 the foreign student population, it not only doubled, but it increased by 119% compared to its number in 2010.
Asian students still share the highest proportion of these students, with China and India students counting for more than half of them. To have a better understanding how Chinese and Indian students dominated foreign student population, it’s enough to know that none of the other countries amounted to 10% of foreign students in Canada.
28% of international students that were studying in Canada during 2017 were Chinese, while 25% of them were Indians.
Among European countries, France shared the highest portion of students sent in Canada, 4% of the entire number of international students.
Despite counting for just 3% of foreign students, Vietnam is the fastest-growing country of origin in 2016-17 with an increase of 89%, followed by India (63%), Iran (45%), Bangladesh (41%), Brazil (28%) and Mexico (16%).
Reasons that were often highlighted by these students on why they chose Canada over other countries were mainly these three: the quality of the education system, the reputation of Canada as a tolerant and non-discriminatory society and third Canada’s reputation as a safe country.
International students actually studying in Canada highly suggest it as a study destination for prospective students. 95% of foreign students said they would highly recommend Canada as a study destination.
Their happiness is reflected also in their post-study plans as many of them aim to stay permanently in Canada. A bit more than half (51%) of international students said they would prefer to remain permanently there after they finish their studies.