<p>Asia dominated the foreign student population, with India leading the way again for the eighth straight year with 103,260 students in the US -- a nine-percent increase in 2008-09 over the previous school year, according to the Institute of International Education (IIE), which released the report Monday.<br />China followed with 98,510 students, a 21-percent jump. South Korea holds third place with 75,065 students, a nine-percent jump.<br />All told, there were 671,616 international students at US tertiary institutions in 2008-09, an eight-percent increase over the previous year, the annual report, titled Open Doors, said.<br />Other countries sending significant numbers of students included Canada, the only non-Asian country in the top five, with 29,697; Japan with 29,264, a 14-percent decrease; Taiwan with 28,065 students; Mexico with 14,850; and Turkey with 13,263, a 10-percent increase.<br />"Saudi Arabia, the 10th leading sender, increased by 28 percent to 12,661, consistent with its substantial investment in government-funded scholarships," the organization said in a press statement.<br />Ranks 11-20 were held by Nepal, Germany, Brazil, Thailand, Indonesia, Britain, Hong Kong, France, Colombia and Nigeria.<br />Universities in California were the favourite destination of international students, followed by New York and Texas.<br />The University of Southern California alone had the largest number of international students at 7,482.<br />The most popular field of study for foreign students was business and management, followed by engineering, math and computer science.<br />International students contributed $17.8 billion to the US economy, the institute said, citing government figures. Seventy percent of the primary funding for the students comes from sources outside the US.<br /></p>
<p>Asia dominated the foreign student population, with India leading the way again for the eighth straight year with 103,260 students in the US -- a nine-percent increase in 2008-09 over the previous school year, according to the Institute of International Education (IIE), which released the report Monday.<br />China followed with 98,510 students, a 21-percent jump. South Korea holds third place with 75,065 students, a nine-percent jump.<br />All told, there were 671,616 international students at US tertiary institutions in 2008-09, an eight-percent increase over the previous year, the annual report, titled Open Doors, said.<br />Other countries sending significant numbers of students included Canada, the only non-Asian country in the top five, with 29,697; Japan with 29,264, a 14-percent decrease; Taiwan with 28,065 students; Mexico with 14,850; and Turkey with 13,263, a 10-percent increase.<br />"Saudi Arabia, the 10th leading sender, increased by 28 percent to 12,661, consistent with its substantial investment in government-funded scholarships," the organization said in a press statement.<br />Ranks 11-20 were held by Nepal, Germany, Brazil, Thailand, Indonesia, Britain, Hong Kong, France, Colombia and Nigeria.<br />Universities in California were the favourite destination of international students, followed by New York and Texas.<br />The University of Southern California alone had the largest number of international students at 7,482.<br />The most popular field of study for foreign students was business and management, followed by engineering, math and computer science.<br />International students contributed $17.8 billion to the US economy, the institute said, citing government figures. Seventy percent of the primary funding for the students comes from sources outside the US.<br /></p>