Coverage Desk
Evidence-led analysis of student mobility, academic levels, fields of study and destination choices across the United States and Canada.
Between 2019/20 and 2023/24, undergraduate decline accounted arithmetically for 80.9% of the combined U.S. undergraduate-and-graduate decrease. In Canada, the decline in bachelor’s registrations exceeded the final net decrease because growth in master’s and doctoral registrations offset part of it.
Graduate share increased in both national series, but the underlying arithmetic differed. U.S. graduate headcount fell while the broader Open Doors total fell faster. Canadian master’s and doctoral registrations increased while the broader registration total declined.
From 2019/20 to 2023/24, U.S. China-origin undergraduate headcount fell 40.9% and Canadian bachelor’s registrations fell 28.2% within their respective systems. A separate Common App series remained 4.7% above its first of three seasons despite a 1.9% latest-year decline.
Between 2019/20 and 2023/24, postsecondary program registrations among international students with Chinese citizenship fell by 23,778. Bachelor’s or equivalent registrations accounted arithmetically for 74.0% of the net decline. Master’s and doctoral registrations increased, offsetting 6.9% of the undergraduate decline. STEM registrations also fell, even though STEM’s share increased because BHASE registrations contracted more sharply.
Open Doors shows where the measured decline was concentrated. Separate F-1, SEVIS and K-12 series show that later increases were uneven and are not interchangeable measures of recovery.
The nine field categories published in Open Doors 2025 reconcile exactly to the total increase of 51,076. Math and computer science added 24,455, while fine and applied arts declined by 4,617. Growth was concentrated, but it was not uniform across fields.
The non-China remainder declined by 2,877, or 6.7%.
India’s 2024/25 Open Doors total exceeded China’s by 97,100. The gap reflected India’s larger graduate and especially OPT populations, partly offset by China’s larger undergraduate and non-degree populations. India’s latest annual increase also coincided with a substantial OPT increase while its graduate count declined.
Graduate students and OPT participants increased from 55.0% to 68.5% of the China-origin Open Doors total between 2018/19 and 2024/25. Their combined count nevertheless fell by 21,223. The apparent contrast is a denominator effect: undergraduate and non-degree populations contracted more sharply.
Canada’s year-end study-permit-holder population increased from 352,290 in 2015 to 996,375 in 2024. Over the same period, the China component fell from 117,825 to 99,650. The non-China component increased by 662,260—arithmetically equal to 102.8% of the total net increase because the China component moved in the opposite direction.
Editorial method
Articles in this section begin with a defined dataset, explain the statistical unit and period, and keep observed change separate from interpretation.
