Checked 3 November 2026
Where the students are actually going.
The destination-share pie and the history line use one comparable official count. They stay empty until that count is on file. The coloured note pie and the country cards are research notes, not enrolment shares.
Global education trends
Shares use one origin country, one reporting year, and one metric. GUV enquiries are not included. A destination with no verified count is left out. It is not shown as zero.
Verified data not yet available.
No source is on file for a comparable destination share. The research notes below are not used as slices.
Historical trend
A line is drawn only when the same origin, destination and metric are recorded for at least two years. Visa applications and GUV enquiries are not plotted on an enrolment line.
Verified data not yet available.
No two comparable years are on file. A single research note is not drawn as growth or decline.
Beyond the UK, USA, Canada and Australia
These are the rising research notes that are not about those four destinations. A note is not a rank, and it is not a student share.
Japan
408,069 international students on 1 May 2025, up 21.2% in a year. First time over 400,000. Language schools and vocational colleges grew fastest.
JASSO, International Student Survey 2025, published 2026. Dated 30 July 2026.
South Korea
About 307,000 international students in higher education as of April 2026. The government’s 300,000 target was met a year early. Vietnam is the largest source, ahead of China.
Korean Ministry of Education and KEDI, reported 29–30 October 2026. Dated 30 October 2026.
Germany
About 517,000 international students in 2025/26. ApplyBoard lists Germany with Japan, South Korea and Malaysia as destinations that gained popularity.
ApplyBoard Trends Report 2027, reported 2 November 2026. Dated 2 November 2026.
Malaysia, New Zealand, Spain, Italy
ICEF agents in Berlin in November 2026 reported stronger student interest in New Zealand, Spain, Italy, Malaysia and Germany. These markets are still smaller than the Big Four.
ICEF Agent Voice 2026, reported 2 November 2026. Dated 2 November 2026.
Trends on this desk
This pie counts the research notes on this page. It is not a share of students, and it is not an enrolment total. Checked 3 November 2026.
Hover a slice or read the legend.
- Rising4 notes · 33.3%Japan · South Korea · Germany · Malaysia, New Zealand, Spain, Italy
- Watch5 notes · 41.7%United Kingdom · Ireland and France · Vietnam · Brazil · South Africa
- Cooling3 notes · 25%Canada · Australia · United States
rising
Japan
408,069 international students on 1 May 2025, up 21.2% in a year. First time over 400,000. Language schools and vocational colleges grew fastest.
For students who will learn Japanese and can wait for a language year. Not a shortcut around English. Tell partners the growth is real and mostly Asian, led by Nepal and Myanmar as well as China.
JASSO, International Student Survey 2025, published 2026Source dated 30 July 2026
rising
South Korea
About 307,000 international students in higher education as of April 2026. The government’s 300,000 target was met a year early. Vietnam is the largest source, ahead of China.
A destination the Big Four brochures skip. Check the university’s dropout and part-time work rules before a family treats a language course as a job route.
Korean Ministry of Education and KEDI, reported 29–30 October 2026Source dated 30 October 2026
rising
Germany
About 517,000 international students in 2025/26. ApplyBoard lists Germany with Japan, South Korea and Malaysia as destinations that gained popularity.
Still the serious public-university route. The work is the APS file, the blocked account, and German. Do not sell it as a cheap UK.
ApplyBoard Trends Report 2027, reported 2 November 2026Source dated 2 November 2026
rising
Malaysia, New Zealand, Spain, Italy
ICEF agents in Berlin in November 2026 reported stronger student interest in New Zealand, Spain, Italy, Malaysia and Germany. These markets are still smaller than the Big Four.
Use them when budget or a visa refusal makes the Big Four a poor fit. Interest is not the same as an offer.
ICEF Agent Voice 2026, reported 2 November 2026Source dated 2 November 2026
watch
United Kingdom
More than 303,000 study-visa applications from main applicants, January to September 2026, about 20% below the same months of 2025. Undergraduate applicants to UCAS were up 7% by the June deadline. The two numbers are not the same thing.
Still the desk’s strongest filing route, especially taught master’s. Do not tell a family the UK is closed. Do tell them a postgraduate visa file is tighter than an undergraduate one.
ApplyBoard, November 2026, and BONARD on the June UCAS deadlineSource dated 2 November 2026
watch
Ireland and France
BONARD says Ireland has taken redirected demand from India. Across the EU, nearly 600,000 people received a first education permit in 2025. This desk does not have a 2026 enrolment total for Ireland or France that is safe to quote.
Offer them when the UK fee or the German language year does not fit. Confirm the university before naming a number.
BONARD, 2026 student-housing note; ApplyBoard on EU permitsSource dated 2 November 2026
cooling
Canada
About 92,000 new post-secondary study-permit applications from January to July 2026, 28% below the same months of 2025. ApplyBoard’s full-year picture is far below the 2023 peak.
Only file where the cap, the province, and the college still match the profile. A 2023 approval is not a 2027 approval.
ApplyBoard Trends Report 2027Source dated 2 November 2026
cooling
Australia
Enrolments from January to May 2026 were 7% lower than a year earlier. English-language courses fell much harder than degrees. 42% of ICEF agents said student interest had decreased, against 25% who said it had increased.
Degrees are still open. Do not lead with a language-only file. Say the market is smaller and more selective, not shut.
BONARD, H1 2026 review; ICEF Agent Voice 2026Source dated 2 November 2026
cooling
United States
F-1 visa issuances fell 33% in 2025 and were down 38% in the first two months of 2026. Active students from India were 335,698 in September 2026, down 12.5% on the year.
File only where the college, the funding, and the interview story are strong. Brazil is one of the few large source countries still up into the US. That does not make the US easier for an Indian applicant.
Financial Express citing ApplyBoard; USAFacts from ICE SEVIS, September 2026Source dated 21 October 2026
watch
Vietnam
Vietnam is rising as a sending country, not as a place this research shows Indian students moving to. It supplied 96,834 students in South Korea (31.5%) and 43,366 in Japan.
If a partner asks for Vietnam as a destination, say the published boom is outbound. Do not build a campaign on a number we have not seen.
Korean education census, April 2026; JASSO 2025Source dated 1 November 2026
watch
Brazil
Brazilians studying in the United States rose to 40,194 active students in September 2026, up 9.3%, while India and China fell. That is Brazil as a source, not proof that Brazil is a rising campus for Indian students.
Useful for partners who recruit in Brazil. Not a default short list for a family in Noida until a university and a visa route are on the file.
USAFacts from ICE SEVIS, September 2026Source dated 21 October 2026
watch
South Africa
A November 2026 admissions board listed 329 open programme deadlines at two South African universities. This desk did not find a national enrolment surge for international students. One university’s own 2026 report showed its international share still near 1.5%.
Treat it as a regional option to check, not as a migration wave. Do not quote a growth rate we do not have.
Global Admissions open-deadline list, 3 November 2026Source dated 3 November 2026
This is not a forecast and not an offer. Ask the desk to read it against one student’s marks and budget.