Number of Taiwanese students in U.S. rises for 4th consecutive year

Washington, Nov. 18 (CNA) The number of Taiwanese students enrolled in U.S. colleges and universities during the 2018/19 academic year rose for the fourth consecutive year, according to a report released Monday by the Institute of International Education (IIE).

There were 23,369 Taiwanese tertiary school students in the U.S., a rise of 4.1 percent from a year earlier, the New York-based group said.

Among them, 31.1 percent were undergraduate students, while 40 percent were enrolled in graduate studies. Others, such as those taking optional practical training (OPT) programs and non-degrees, stood at 21.8 percent and 7.1 percent, respectively.

According to the IIE, the total number of international students in the U.S. during the 2018/19 academic year was 1,095,299, a 0.05 percent increase over the previous year, and they made up 5.5 percent of the total U.S. higher education population.

For the fifth year, Taiwan maintained its ranking as the seventh- largest country of origin for international students in the U.S., after Vietnam, with 24,392 students.

The top five countries representing the largest sources of international students in 2018/19 were China (369,548), India (202,014), South Korea (52,250), Saudi Arabia (37,080) and Canada (26,122).

"Promoting international student mobility remains a top priority for the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and we want even more students in the future to see the U.S. as the best destination to earn their degrees," Marie Royce, assistant secretary of state for Educational and Cultural Affairs, was quoted as saying.