Indian origin Hindu-Buddhists top foreign student enrollment in US

Eminent Hindu Leader of  US Rajan Zed with Executive Board members of Duke University Hindu Students Association

Indian origin Hindu-Buddhists top foreign student enrollment in US

By  Upananda Brahmachari.

WASHINGTON D.C., November 16, 2009 – Report of Open Doors 2009 report on international students studying in the U.S., reveals that Indian origin Hindu-Buddhists combine are the forerunners among the foreign student enrolment in US, beating the numbers of Christians and Muslims this time like previous year.

The number of international students at colleges and universities in the United States increased by 8% to an all-time high of 671,616 in the 2008/09 academic year, according to the Open Doors report, which is published annually by the Institute of International Education (IIE) with support from the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. This is the largest percentage increase in international student enrollments since 1980/81, and marks the third consecutive year of significant growth (with increases of 7% in 2007/08 and 3% in 2006/07). The total international student count exceeds by 14.5% the prior peak enrollment year (2002/03).

Again India continues to be the top place of origin for international students coming to the United States for higher studies for the eighth year in a row. Open Doors 2009 reports increases in foreign student enrollments from seven of the ten leading places of origin, and 19 of the top 25, with increases of more than 20% from four countries. India remains the leading place of origin for the eighth consecutive year, increasing by 9% to 103,260. Students from China, once again the second leading sender, increased 21% for a total of 98,510. South Korea, in third place, increased 9% to 75,065. Canada, the only non-Asian country in the top five, rose to fourth place with an increase of 2% to 29,697, surpassing Japan, now in fifth place after students declined for the fourth consecutive year, decreasing by 14% to 29,264. Taiwan remained in sixth place, with 28,065 students, a 3% decline. The number of students from Mexico, the seventh-leading sender, remained flat this year, with a total of 14,850.

Students from the four places of origin – India, China, South Korea and Japan, from leading five ( Canada in fourth place) – comprise more than 45 per cent of all international students enrolled in US higher education.

Top 5 Places of Origin of International Students, 2007/08 & 2008/09

From the above it is evident that Indian students accounted for 15.4 per cent of all foreign students, followed closely by China (14.6 per cent) and South Korea (11.2 per cent).

As for total international student enrollment this time (671,616), the number of international students studying in the US has been increased steadily, with a remarkable growth of 7.7 per cent of the previous year’s total (623,805).

International students contribute $17.8 billion to the U.S. economy, through their expenditures on tuition and living expenses, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. Higher education is among the United States’ top service sector exports, as international students provide revenue to the U.S. economy and individual host states for living expenses, including room and board, books and supplies, transportation, health insurance, support for accompanying family members, and other miscellaneous items. Open Doors 2009 reports that 65% of all international students receive the majority of their funds from personal and family sources. When other sources of foreign funding are included, such as assistance from their home country governments or universities, 70% of all international students’ primary funding comes from sources outside of the United States.

It is a fact that Indian (HINDU) origins are contributing a substantial gain to the US economy including the human resource development with subtle intellectual assets to US. Obviously both the US Education and Economy are substantially strengthened by the aspirant Hindu Students as important contributors.

Institutions that have devoted more resources for international student recruitment trips seem to have concentrated mainly on Asia, with China, Korea, Japan and India as most popular recruitment destinations.