The tables give information about the number of international students in Canada and the US based on their countries of origin from 2002 to 2003.
Overall, the total number of overseas students witnessed an upward trend in both countries but Canada experienced a much higher growth rate than the US. In addition, Chinese and Indian students increased sharply in Canada, while the US had a decline in Indian students.
In Canada, the total student population increased by 17%, from nearly 60,000 in 2002 to over 70,000 in 2003. The largest rise came from China, with numbers climbing from 5,400 to 7,850, representing a 45% growth. Indian students also grew considerably, by 35% to reach almost 2,900. Students from the US increased more modestly, by 9% to just under 5,500.
By contrast, the US saw only a slight overall increase of 2%, from about 582,000 students in 2002 to 592,000 in 2003. Chinese enrolments rose by 6% to 116,600, and Canadian students grew by 7% to over 33,000. However, the number of Indian students decreased from 200,000 to 182,000, a drop of 9%.