Total outbound internationally mobile tertiary students studying abroad, all countries, both sexes (number) by country

Students who have crossed a national or territorial border for the purpose of education and are now enrolled outside their country of origin.

Countries reporting

200

Highest

993,367 number

China

Lowest

62 number

Palau

Median

8,792 number

Years covered

1997–2018

Data points

5,215

What the numbers show

Total outbound internationally mobile tertiary students studying abroad, all countries, both sexes (number) is currently reported for 200 countries. The highest value is 993,367 number in China; the lowest is 62 number in Palau.

The median across all reporting countries is 8,792 number, and the mean is 24,268 number.

The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 16,022.

Over the past decade 171 countries rose and 29 fell. The largest increase was in Sint Maarten (Dutch part) (up 1,300.0%), and the largest decrease in Botswana (down 66.0%).

Total outbound internationally mobile tertiary students studying abroa: full country ranking

#	Country	Latest	Year	10-year change	Trend
1	China	993,367 number	2018	up 116.8%	volatile
2	India	375,055 number	2018	up 101.5%	rising
3	Germany	122,538 number	2018	up 47.2%	rising
4	Vietnam	108,527 number	2018	up 200.8%	volatile
5	South Korea	101,774 number	2018	down 13.4%	rising
6	France	99,488 number	2018	up 111.7%	rising
7	United States	84,349 number	2018	up 32.8%	rising
8	Kazakhstan	83,503 number	2018	up 78.4%	volatile
9	Nepal	81,917 number	2018	up 313.1%	volatile
10	Saudi Arabia	77,406 number	2018	up 210.5%	volatile
11	Nigeria	76,338 number	2018	up 83.6%	rising
12	Italy	75,954 number	2018	up 130.6%	rising
13	Ukraine	72,063 number	2018	up 127.6%	volatile
14	Brazil	67,183 number	2018	up 137.9%	rising
15	Syria	64,379 number	2018	up 250.0%	volatile
16	Malaysia	61,904 number	2018	up 10.2%	rising
17	Pakistan	58,821 number	2018	up 88.8%	rising
18	Russia	57,632 number	2018	up 29.1%	rising
19	Iran	56,376 number	2018	up 70.0%	rising
20	Morocco	52,500 number	2018	up 27.8%	rising
21	Bangladesh	50,004 number	2018	up 188.3%	volatile
22	Indonesia	49,900 number	2018	up 42.7%	rising
23	Canada	48,345 number	2018	up 5.4%	rising
24	Turkey	47,546 number	2018	up 17.5%	rising
25	Colombia	46,631 number	2018	up 94.0%	rising
26	Turkmenistan	44,875 number	2018	up 553.0%	volatile
27	Azerbaijan	43,767 number	2018	up 482.4%	volatile
28	Spain	42,034 number	2018	up 81.0%	rising
29	Greece	39,096 number	2018	up 37.2%	falling
30	United Kingdom	38,986 number	2018	up 76.2%	rising
31	Egypt	38,667 number	2018	up 213.6%	volatile
32	Romania	37,534 number	2018	up 71.2%	rising
33	Uzbekistan	36,909 number	2018	up 17.3%	rising
36	Peru	33,701 number	2018	up 47.2%	rising
37	Thailand	32,912 number	2018	up 26.2%	rising
38	Japan	31,903 number	2018	down 37.1%	falling
39	Iraq	31,566 number	2018	up 240.7%	volatile
40	Slovakia	31,472 number	2018	up 20.6%	rising
41	Afghanistan	30,380 number	2018	up 574.7%	volatile
42	Algeria	29,718 number	2018	up 34.8%	rising
43	Palestine	27,384 number	2018	up 88.1%	rising
44	Cyprus	26,494 number	2018	up 8.3%	rising
45	Jordan	26,484 number	2018	up 92.0%	rising
46	Poland	26,351 number	2018	down 3.3%	rising
47	Yemen	26,299 number	2018	up 150.0%	volatile
48	Cameroon	26,169 number	2018	up 30.4%	rising
49	Bulgaria	25,093 number	2018	up 27.7%	rising
50	Kuwait	24,694 number	2018	up 214.2%	volatile
51	Sri Lanka	24,118 number	2018	up 54.9%	rising
53	Tunisia	23,730 number	2018	up 31.8%	rising
54	Ecuador	23,110 number	2018	up 126.3%	volatile
55	Belarus	22,557 number	2018	down 22.5%	volatile
56	Austria	21,514 number	2018	up 57.9%	rising
57	Venezuela	21,087 number	2018	up 38.3%	rising
58	Bolivia	20,387 number	2018	up 36.2%	volatile
59	Zimbabwe	19,679 number	2018	down 20.5%	rising
60	Tajikistan	19,675 number	2018	up 269.1%	volatile
61	Moldova	19,412 number	2018	up 29.2%	rising
62	Philippines	18,859 number	2018	up 112.1%	rising
63	Lebanon	18,193 number	2018	up 28.4%	rising
64	Albania	18,181 number	2018	down 13.4%	rising
65	Netherlands	17,560 number	2018	up 111.0%	rising
66	Norway	17,215 number	2018	up 53.2%	rising
67	Chile	16,728 number	2018	up 76.5%	rising
68	Switzerland	16,470 number	2018	up 53.7%	rising
69	Oman	16,306 number	2018	up 53.3%	rising
70	Israel	16,222 number	2018	up 19.3%	rising
71	Sweden	15,973 number	2018	up 14.4%	rising
72	Ghana	15,962 number	2018	up 76.3%	rising
73	Belgium	15,868 number	2018	up 57.5%	rising
74	Serbia	15,749 number	2018	up 38.7%	rising
75	Kenya	15,732 number	2018	up 15.5%	rising
76	Bosnia and Herzegovina	15,399 number	2018	up 3.8%	flat
77	Portugal	15,074 number	2018	up 32.1%	rising
78	Ireland	14,974 number	2018	down 17.1%	falling
79	Cote d'Ivoire	14,116 number	2018	up 58.6%	rising
80	Paraguay	13,884 number	2018	up 96.2%	volatile
81	Senegal	13,876 number	2018	up 11.5%	rising
82	Australia	13,319 number	2018	up 33.5%	rising
83	Sudan	13,239 number	2018	up 69.4%	rising
84	Angola	13,103 number	2018	up 66.2%	rising
85	Hungary	12,865 number	2018	up 89.9%	rising
86	Czechia	12,334 number	2018	up 35.7%	rising
87	United Arab Emirates	12,276 number	2018	up 85.9%	rising
88	Democratic Republic of Congo	12,202 number	2018	up 184.6%	rising
89	Mongolia	11,892 number	2018	up 46.7%	volatile
90	Luxembourg	11,582 number	2018	up 67.3%	rising
91	Finland	11,358 number	2018	up 71.0%	rising
92	Georgia	11,144 number	2018	up 45.1%	rising
93	Kyrgyzstan	11,075 number	2018	up 156.1%	rising
94	Libya	10,456 number	2018	up 172.2%	volatile
95	Lithuania	10,395 number	2018	up 55.8%	rising
96	Myanmar	10,277 number	2018	up 117.0%	volatile
97	Haiti	10,185 number	2018	down 10.4%	rising
98	Congo	10,131 number	2018	up 16.9%	rising
99	Croatia	9,754 number	2018	up 9.2%	rising
100	Mali	9,669 number	2018	up 85.5%	rising
101	South Africa	9,130 number	2018	up 57.7%	rising
102	Argentina	9,129 number	2018	down 1.7%	rising
103	Qatar	9,022 number	2018	up 319.2%	volatile
104	Guinea	8,563 number	2018	up 49.1%	rising
105	Mauritius	7,929 number	2018	down 7.9%	rising
106	Ethiopia	7,578 number	2018	up 77.6%	rising
107	Benin	7,501 number	2018	up 33.4%	rising
108	Gabon	7,310 number	2018	up 21.3%	rising
109	Somalia	7,178 number	2018	up 151.6%	rising
110	Tanzania	6,876 number	2018	up 18.1%	rising
111	Togo	6,845 number	2018	up 33.2%	rising
112	Laos	6,558 number	2018	up 68.5%	rising
113	Burkina Faso	6,446 number	2018	up 73.4%	rising
114	Cambodia	6,161 number	2018	up 98.5%	rising
115	Uganda	6,044 number	2018	up 59.6%	rising
116	Denmark	5,935 number	2018	up 17.6%	falling
117	Comoros	5,904 number	2018	up 86.8%	rising
118	North Macedonia	5,704 number	2018	down 1.5%	rising
119	Chad	5,690 number	2018	up 46.5%	rising
120	Bahrain	5,686 number	2018	up 46.8%	rising
121	Jamaica	5,446 number	2018	down 10.4%	falling
122	Namibia	5,365 number	2018	down 40.7%	falling
123	Zambia	5,358 number	2018	up 1.4%	rising
124	Uruguay	5,285 number	2018	up 50.4%	rising
125	Armenia	5,220 number	2018	down 3.8%	rising
126	Montenegro	5,180 number	2018	down 4.0%	rising
127	Niger	5,172 number	2018	up 39.2%	rising
128	Latvia	5,111 number	2018	up 26.1%	rising
129	New Zealand	5,036 number	2018	up 19.3%	falling
130	Honduras	5,017 number	2018	up 89.8%	rising
131	Rwanda	4,851 number	2018	up 13.7%	rising
132	Mauritania	4,826 number	2018	up 50.0%	rising
133	Madagascar	4,623 number	2018	up 9.9%	rising
134	Bhutan	4,575 number	2018	up 190.1%	volatile
135	El Salvador	4,553 number	2018	up 55.9%	rising
136	Dominican Republic	4,410 number	2018	up 75.6%	rising
138	Cape Verde	3,742 number	2018	up 7.1%	rising
139	Guatemala	3,727 number	2018	up 24.0%	rising
140	Bahamas	3,707 number	2018	up 51.6%	rising
141	Estonia	3,666 number	2018	up 7.2%	rising
142	Burundi	3,551 number	2018	up 115.1%	rising
143	Malawi	3,536 number	2018	up 8.4%	rising
144	Trinidad and Tobago	3,449 number	2018	down 37.6%	falling
145	Guinea-Bissau	3,431 number	2018	up 85.0%	rising
146	Costa Rica	3,326 number	2018	up 62.6%	rising
147	Iceland	3,302 number	2018	up 37.0%	rising
148	Solomon Islands	3,262 number	2018	up 5.8%	rising
149	Slovenia	3,195 number	2018	up 39.8%	rising
150	Mozambique	3,117 number	2018	up 63.5%	rising
151	Lesotho	3,041 number	2018	down 31.5%	rising
152	Maldives	2,971 number	2018	up 37.3%	rising
153	Nicaragua	2,953 number	2018	up 23.1%	rising
154	Macao	2,795 number	2018	up 104.2%	rising
155	East Timor	2,749 number	2018	down 12.8%	volatile
156	Brunei	2,680 number	2018	down 8.5%	rising
157	Botswana	2,548 number	2018	down 66.0%	falling
159	Eswatini	2,412 number	2018	down 36.6%	rising
160	Cuba	2,299 number	2018	up 35.5%	rising
161	Gambia	1,871 number	2018	up 64.0%	rising
162	Eritrea	1,841 number	2018	up 95.4%	rising
163	Vanuatu	1,814 number	2018	up 5.3%	rising
164	Guyana	1,671 number	2018	up 16.4%	rising
165	Central African Republic	1,640 number	2018	up 30.2%	rising
166	Bermuda	1,600 number	2018	up 32.1%	rising
167	Andorra	1,543 number	2018	up 27.0%	rising
168	Equatorial Guinea	1,458 number	2018	up 16.8%	rising
169	Papua New Guinea	1,455 number	2018	up 53.2%	rising
170	North Korea	1,364 number	2018	down 38.4%	volatile
171	Sao Tome and Principe	1,309 number	2018	up 127.7%	rising
172	Sierra Leone	1,289 number	2018	up 44.2%	rising
173	Barbados	1,264 number	2018	down 8.3%	falling
174	Tonga	1,259 number	2018	up 1.4%	rising
175	Fiji	1,181 number	2018	down 31.7%	falling
176	Malta	1,141 number	2018	up 13.3%	rising
177	Samoa	1,105 number	2018	up 58.3%	flat
178	Kiribati	1,099 number	2018	up 11.8%	rising
179	South Sudan	1,093 number	2018	up 227.2%	rising
180	Liechtenstein	1,085 number	2018	up 25.0%	rising
181	Saint Lucia	1,037 number	2018	down 13.8%	rising
182	Dominica	999 number	2018	up 45.6%	rising
183	Liberia	975 number	2018	up 18.2%	rising
184	San Marino	950 number	2018	up 19.3%	rising
185	Gibraltar	939 number	2018	up 41.4%	volatile
186	Suriname	917 number	2018	up 62.3%	falling
187	Belize	883 number	2018	up 1.6%	rising
188	Puerto Rico	871 number	2018	up 37.2%	rising
189	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	712 number	2018	down 11.9%	rising
190	Antigua and Barbuda	665 number	2018	up 4.4%	rising
191	Cayman Islands	553 number	2018	up 54.9%	volatile
192	Seychelles	544 number	2018	up 6.7%	rising
193	Saint Kitts and Nevis	511 number	2018	up 1.6%	rising
194	Grenada	490 number	2018	down 7.2%	rising
195	Tuvalu	440 number	2018	up 10.0%	rising
196	Monaco	394 number	2018	down 5.3%	rising
197	Aruba	364 number	2018	up 177.9%	rising
198	British Virgin Islands	358 number	2018	up 20.5%	rising
199	Marshall Islands	341 number	2018	up 46.4%	rising
200	Curacao	226 number	2018	up 247.7%	volatile
201	Micronesia (country)	214 number	2018	up 25.1%	rising
202	Turks and Caicos Islands	195 number	2018	down 22.3%	rising
203	Nauru	140 number	2018	up 13.8%	rising
204	Sint Maarten (Dutch part)	112 number	2018	up 1,300.0%	volatile
205	Palau	62 number	2018	up 21.6%	volatile

Regions and income groups

Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.

World 5.57 million number
IDA & IBRD total 3.71 million number
Low & middle income 3.62 million number
Middle income 3.35 million number
IBRD only 2.90 million number
Upper middle income 1.99 million number
Late-demographic dividend 1.99 million number
East Asia & Pacific 1.53 million number
Early-demographic dividend 1.48 million number
Lower middle income 1.36 million number
High income 1.33 million number
Europe & Central Asia 1.33 million number

About this data

Indicator: Total outbound internationally mobile tertiary students studying abroad, all countries, both sexes (number)
Unit: number
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage: 250 places, 5,215 data points, 1997–2018
Last refreshed: 07 August 2026

Students who have crossed a national or territorial border for the purpose of education and are now enrolled outside their country of origin.