The bar chart shows the number of international applicants from China, Japan, the USA, and Russia to universities in a European country between 2004 and 2008.
Overall, the number of applicants from China and Japan consistently increased over the five years, while the figures for the USA and Russia showed more variation and were generally lower.
In 2004, China had the highest number of applicants at over 25,000, which steadily rose to almost 30,000 by 2008. Similarly, the number of Japanese applicants increased steadily from about 10,000 in 2004 to nearly 15,000 in 2008. These two countries consistently had the highest numbers of applicants during the period.
In contrast, the number of applicants from the USA started at around 7,000 in 2004, rose to a peak of approximately 9,000 in 2006, and then fell slightly in the following years. Russian applicants initially numbered just over 5,000 in 2004, decreased slightly in 2005, and remained fairly stable at around 4,000 to 5,000 for the rest of the period.