Taiwan ranks 7th among countries sending students to U.S.

Taipei, Nov. 14 (CNA) A total of 1,078,822 international students enrolled in higher education programs in the United States during the 2016-2017 academic year, of which 21,516 were from Taiwan, according to a report released by the New York-based Institute of International Education on Monday.

Taiwan was seventh among countries of origin, the report showed.

The latest Open Doors report on overseas students studying in the U.S. found that the number of international students enrolled in U.S. higher education programs increased by 3.4 percent in 2016-17, making this the 11th consecutive year the figure has grown.

Leading the pack is China, with more than 350,000 nationals studying in the U.S, accounting for 32.5 percent of all overseas students.

Although China remains number one in terms of the number of students it sends to the U.S., India, which came in second with 186,267 students, saw the highest growth with 12.3 percent.

Taiwan's 21,516 students represent an increase of 389 from the previous academic year, making up 2 percent of the total foreign student population.

According to the report, overseas students predominantly major in engineering, business and management, mathematics and computer science.

Meanwhile, the most popular metropolitan areas were New York City, Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago and Dallas in that order.

The more than 1 million international students in the U.S., contributed over US$39 billion to the U.S. economy in 2016, according to the report, which cited the U.S. Department of Commerce.