In November, the Institute of International Education (IIE) launched the annual edition of its flagship Open Doors 2025 Report on International Educational Exchange. 

The report highlighted a continued increase in overall international student enrollment at U.S. colleges and universities. Total enrollments reached 1,177,766 international students in the academic year 2024/25, representing a 4.5% rise compared to the previous year.  

However, while the total number of international students in the U.S. continues to grow, the number of new international students who started their studies in 2024/25 recorded a 7.2% decrease from the previous academic year (277,118 compared to the 298,705 registered in 2023/24), in a turbulent higher education context in the United States (see ACA Newsletter – Education Europe, March 2025, May 2025, July 2025). 

While the figures concerning students enrolled in study programmes (undergraduate, graduate, and non-degree) remained stable (883,513 compared to the 883.908 of the previous year), the number of international students who moved to the United States to gain practical work experience through the Optional Practical Training (OPT) programme rose by an impressive 21% (294,253 compared to the 242.782 of the previous year).  

International students accounted for 6.1% of the total U.S. higher education student population. As in previous years, STEM fields remained the most popular: Mathematics, Computer Science and Engineering jointly accounted for over 44% of all international students, with both fields continuing to expand in 2024/25. 

India consolidated its position as the top country of origin among all international students in the U.S., with 363,019 students in 2024/25, marking a 9.5% increase. China remained the second largest sending country, with 265,919 students, recording a decline of around 4.1% from the year before. Students from these two countries together accounted for more than half of all international students in the U.S. Notable increases were also recorded for students from Nepal (+48.7%), Ghana (+36.5%), and Bangladesh (+17.9%). 

Meanwhile, during the 2024/25 academic year, 298,180 students from the U.S. studied abroad for academic credit, representing a 6.2% increase as compared to the previous year. Europe remains the top destination: Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, and France consolidated their position as leading host countries, with nearly half of all U.S. students abroad choosing one of these four countries.