In charts: Where do international students study?

More than half of all international students last year studied in four countries: the United States, Canada, Britain and Australia, according to Project Atlas 2024, a research portal focused on student mobility.

The United States – home to elite universities such as Harvard, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford – was the top destination in 2024, hosting a record 1,126,690 students, according to the portal, which is run by the Institute of International Education.

But immigration policy changes in these destinations, including limits on international student intake, visa revocation plans and deportations, could reshape the education landscape.

Strict visa rules

Since taking office in January, US President Donald Trump has revoked and then reinstated the visas of thousands of international students as part of his hardline immigration agenda.

High-profile arrests, including of Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil for three months, followed Trump's orders to deport non-citizen students with pro-Palestinian or anti-Israel views.

In May, the administration paused the scheduling of student visa appointments overseas before resuming them in June with increased social-media vetting of applicants.

The American Council on Education said the pause on visas “would send a message that our nation no longer welcomes talented students and scholars from other countries”.

International students, mostly from China and India, contributed $50 billion in tuition fees and other living expenses in 2023, a revenue stream at...

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