In the 21st century, as China’s economic developing and household income increasing, studying abroad has become a more popular choice. Studying abroad can cultivate a global perspective and broaden students’ thinking. With the consistent support of Chinese policies, Chinese people also realize that studying abroad can have a positive impact on the long-term development of individuals and country. At the same time, international education in China has also developed rapidly. The number of students studying abroad and international students studying in China has grown at the same pace. China has become the world's largest exporter of international students and Asia's most important destination for studying abroad.
Chinese students studying abroad
Figure1 Source: Education Ministry
The chart in Figure 1 illustrates the change in the number of Chinese students studying abroad between 2010 and 2017. In 2017, the number exceeded 600,000 for the first time, reaching 608,400 people, with a year-on-year growth of 11.74%. If current trends continue, it should increase steadily in the next few years. What’s more, some experts predict that there will be another big increase in the number of Chinese studying overseas when the effects of the country's newly-adopted second-child policy begin to take hold.
Figure2 Source: 2017 China Studying Abroad White Paper
According to the “2017 China Studying Abroad White Paper” conducted by New Oriental Education and Technology Group, the word cloud shows the purpose of studying abroad. The factors that determine the students to study abroad mainly come from the drive of internal self-improvement. In contrast, external pressure factors such as test pressure, the influence of people around, and the climate are in a secondary position.
As a result, prestigious schools and educational environment have become important indicators for consideration when Chinese students decide the destination. From the flow map below, we can also know that European and American developed countries are still the first choice of most students.
Figure3 10 countries that welcome the most international students from China Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Figure4Source: Education Ministry
Figure5Source: Education Ministry
Figure4 and 5 gives a breakdown of returnees’ statistics from 2010 to 2017. It is not difficult to find that the number of returned overseas students has been steadily increasing, and the deficit of the number of overseas students returning to China and Chinese students studying abroad gradually decreased. By 2017, a total of 3,132,200 overseas students chose to return to China after completing their studies abroad, accounting for nearly 84% of the total number of international students who have completed their studies. The improvement of China’s employment environment and the development of science and technology are two of the reasons for this phenomenon.
International students in China
Figure6Source: Education Ministry
Figure6 illustrates there is a continuous increase in the number of international students in China. The year-on-year growth rate of international students in China has kept above 10% for two years. According to education Ministry, in 2017, the scale of international students in China has continued to expand, the structure of students has been continuously optimized, and the attractiveness of Chinese government scholarships has continued to increase, which make the development of international studies in China has developed to high levels and high quality.
Figure7Source: Education Ministry
It is worth mentioning that the Belt and Road Initiative also has an impact on the number of international students in China. In 2017, the number of international students along the “Belt and Road” route was 317,200, accounting for 64.85% of the total, with an increase of 11.58%, which was higher than the average growth rate of other countries. The rapid development of international students from “Belt and Road” countries can not only provide talent support for the construction of the “Belt and Road”, but also serve as a cultural bridge for countries along the “Belt and Road”.
References:
1. China Education Ministry
2. China studying abroad development report (2017), CCG
3. 2017 China Studying Abroad White Paper, New Oriental Education and Technology Group
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