The chart below illustrates how many students from China, Japan, the USA and Russia applying tertiary education in Europe over a 4-year period from 2004 to 2008.
Overall, the number of students from Japan and the USA choosing European universities increased, the opposite was true for China. Moreover, over the first half of the period, China commanded the largest share of the total foreign students; however, from 2006 onwards, this position belonged to the USA. The figure for Russian students stayed unchanged over the period and was also the lowest.
In 2004, Chinese students held the top spot in 2004, with around 28.000 undergraduates, which was twice the number of the undergraduates from the USA. Furthermore, the figures for Japan and Russia accounted for lower numbers, with over 5.000 students for the former and around 2.000 students for the latter.
Afterward, China witnessed a dramatic decline in applicants to European higher educational institutes, dropping to approximately 15.000 students in 2008. While a negligible difference was observed in the number of students from the USA, it surpassed China in 2007 and then reached a peak at 28.000 in 2008, accounting for the highest portion. The number of Japanese students experienced an annual increase of 1.000 students, finishing the period at 10.000 students. Whereas, Russia had the lowest number of students choosing universities in Europe for further study, which fluctuated around 2.000 students throughout the period.