The chart illustrates the number of students from overseas applying to the universities of a country in Europe from 2004 to 2008.
It can be seen that despite some fluctuations, there was an increase in the figure for almost all nations except China. In addition, Russia had the lowest figure during this period.
The number of international applicants from the USA started at 13,000 students, after which it experienced a significant growth, before reaching a peak of about 27,000 students at the end of the period. A similar change can be seen in the figure for Japan, which was at 6,000 applicants in 2004 and continuously remained stable at this level over the next one year, followed by a slight increase to 10,000 students in 2008.
3,000 students from Russia applied to the universities in 2004, with a mild fluctuation from 2,500 students to 2,800 students over the next 3 years and a final rise to roughly 4,000 students in 2008. While the figure for China was the highest, at 27,500 students, before experiencing a considerable decrease by 10,000 students, followed by a leveling off in 2007 and then ending at approximately 15,000 applicants at the end of the period.