Statistics of overseas students studying in China in 2017.

 Updated statistics.  

According to statistics, in 2017 a total of 489,200 international students from 205 countries and regions attended 829 higher education institutions in 31 provinces, Making China second the most popular destination in the world for foreign students enrolment. Currently, China has overtaken Britain, where 442,375 foreign students furthered their studies in 2017, but it is still behind the US, where more than one million of foreigners are receiving their degree . The overall  growth of international students in China is 18.62% compared to 2016.

Statistics by regions:

Top 10 source countries: 

1) South Korea 

2) Thailand 

3) Pakistan 

4) the United States 

5) India

6) Russia 

7) Japan

8) Indonesia 

9) Kazakhstan

10) Laos

Also significant amount of students coming from France, Germany, Malaysia, Mongolia, Vietnam and the African continent (the highest growth rate).

Top 10 cities and provinces by the number of foreign students:

77,234 foreigners studying in Beijing, 59,887 in Shanghai, 32,228 in Jiangsu Province (cities like Nanjing and Suzhou), 30,108 in Zhejiang Province (Hangzhou and Ningbo), 26,564 in Tianjin, 25,273 in Liaoning Province (Dalian and Shenyang), 24,605 in Guangdong Province (Guangzhou and Shenzhen), 19,829 in Shandong Province (Jinan and Qingdao), 19,263 in Hubei Province (Wuhan) and 14,925 in Yunnan Province. In addition, significant amount of foreigners are studying in Heilongjiang, Guangxi, Fujian and Sichuan Provinces. Cities like Xi'an and Hong Kong SAR are also considered as popular educational hubs. 

Scholarship statistics:

In 2017, 58,600 foreign students from 180 countries were awarded Chinese government scholarships, accounting for 11.97% of the total. 88.02% of the recipients were degree students (51,600); 69.57% (40,800) were graduates or doctoral students, marking an increase of 20.06% compared to 2016. The number of self-funded students was 430,600, accounting for 88.03% of all overseas students.

* All the data above does not include students from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan regions.