The given tables illustrate the number of international students studying in Canada and the United States in 2002 and 2003, divided by country of origin, along with the percentage change over the period.
Overall, both countries experienced a rise in the total number of overseas students between 2002 and 2003. However, the increase in Canada was far more significant, mainly due to large gains among Chinese and Indian students, whereas the US saw only a slight overall growth.
In Canada, the total number of international students rose by 17%, from around 59,870 to 70,004. The number of students from China grew dramatically by 45%, reaching 7,850, while those from India also climbed substantially by 35%, to 2,835. Meanwhile, the figure for American students studying in Canada increased only modestly by 9%, from 5,000 in 2002 to 5,450 in 2003. Overall, Canada’s foreign student population expanded more rapidly than that of the United States.
By contrast, the number of international students in the United States showed a minor rise of just 2%, from 581,600 in 2002 to 592,230 in 2003. Chinese enrolments went up slightly by 6%, reaching 116,600, and Canadian students in the US also increased marginally by 7% to 33,170. However, the number of Indian students declined by 9%, falling from 200,000 to 182,000, which limited the overall growth in the American figures.