According to a China Education Online report released on December 13, 2011, the number of Chinese students studying aboard will exceed 300,000 and may reach 330,000 by the end of 2011. It will be the 4th year for the annual growth rate to exceed 20%. The report said that, since 1978, there were two quantum leaps in the number. One was in 2002 and the other, which has continued unabated, was in 2008. For example, the number of 284,700 students studying overseas in 2010 was double the number in 2007. The most popular country of destination is the United States. In 2010 over 45% of students studying abroad went to the U.S. Other top choices include Australia, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, New Zealand and Singapore. The report attributed the growth to the fact that Western countries have been encouraging the enrollment of international students since the 2008 financial crisis began. The report stated that the U.S. Embassy in China granted over 85% of student visa applications. It was also noted that students leaving China tend to be younger in age. While 62% surveyed would like to attend colleges abroad for bachelor’s degrees, 22% wanted to attend high schools.
Source: China Education Online, December 14, 2011
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