The chart illustrates the number of applicants from 4 countries: the USA, China, Japan, and Russia that a European nation’s universities received from 2004 to 2008.
Overall, there were increases in the number of applicants from nearly all countries, with the exception of China. It is also clear that the majority of international applicants are of Chinese or American nationality.
In 2004, this country received nearly 25000 Chinese applicants, which is greater than the other three nationalities. However, over the next following 4 years, this figure had declined from that peak to only slightly above 15000 in 2008.In contrast, the number of US applicants started out at second place at an approximate 12500, but then rose year over year to eventually, in 2008, reaching the same peak of 25000 that China had started from.
The figures for Japan and Russia, respectively, occupied the 3rd and last place in 2004, at around 6000 and 2000 applicants. The number of applicants from Japan then rose slowly to slightly below 10000 in 2008, while the corresponding figure from Russia experienced a decreased in 2005 but then recovered slightly and end the period only slightly above its starting point, at around 2500 applicants.