The given bar chart delineates how many students applied to the universities in a specific country in Europe across a quinquennium, commencing from 2004.
Overall, the numbers of applicants from all countries to a European nation were on the rise throughout the surveyed period, with the exception of China. Additionally, most students applying to European universities came from China and the US.
At the beginning of the period, around 13.000 American students applied to universities in Europe, which was much higher than the figures for Japan and Russia which were only approximately 7.000 and 3.000 applicants respectively. Thereafter, applicants from the US witnessed a constant and significant growth of over 10.000 people throughout the time frame, surpassing China to be the leading country regarding applicant numbers since 2007. Japan almost exactly mirrored this pattern, albeit at a much lower level: it increased less significantly, from about 7.000 to 10.000 students between 2004 and 2008, which translated to roughly a 3.000 growth. Moreover, The number of students applying to European colleges from Russia recorded the lowest quantity rise of only around 1.000 by 2008.
However, looking at China, it can be observed that the trend is somewhat different. Commencing at approximately 26.000 as the leading countries in terms of international applicants to Europe, the figure for this country dropped to about 18.000 in the 2006 before remaining unchanged in the next year, finally declined marginally by around 3.000 at the end of the time frame shown.