The bar chart illustrates the number of applicants from four different countries, namely China, Japan, the USA and Russia, seeking admission to universities in a European country over a five-year period from 2004 to 2008.
Overall, while the figures for the USA and Japan climbed steadily throughout the period, those for China declined, and the number of Russian applicants remained largely unchanged. In addition, the most dramatic growth was recorded for the USA, which overtook China to become the leading source of applicants by the end of the period.
Regarding the upward-trending groups, in 2004, the USA sent roughly 13,300 applicants, more than double the figure for Japan, which stood at just under 6,500. The number of American applicants then surged consistently, more than doubling to reach approximately 27,800 in 2008, the highest of all four countries by the final year. A similar but far gentler increase was seen in the Japanese figures, which rose modestly to slightly above 10,000 applicants in 2008.
As for the remaining countries, China began the period as the dominant source, with a substantial figure of around 27,800 applicants in 2004, whereas Russia recorded a mere 2,800 or so. In contrast to the previous group, the Chinese figure fell continuously over the five years, dropping to just over 15,000 by 2008 and thereby losing its leading position to the USA. Meanwhile, the number of Russian applicants barely fluctuated, edging up slightly to approximately 3,200 by the end of the period and remaining the lowest throughout.