A recently released report by the U.S. Institute of International Education (IIE) cited the U.S., Australia, and Canada as the top study destinations for Vietnamese nationals.

According to the 'Open Doors 2023 Report on International Educational Exchange' by the IIE, 21,900 Vietnamese students chose to study in the U.S. during the 2022-23 academic year, representing a 5.7 percent year-on-year increase.

Though the number of Vietnamese students in the U.S. is on the rise compared to what it was during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is still far lower than the 24,392 Vietnamese students enrolled in U.S. schools during the 2018-19 academic year.

Comparatively, a total of just 20,713 Vietnamese students studied in the U.S. in the 2021-22 academic year, according to the report.

Despite the decrease, Vietnam still tops Southeast Asian countries in terms of the number of nationals studying in the U.S..

As of November 2023, Vietnam held the fifth position worldwide in the count of students pursuing education in the U.S., constituting two percent of the total international student population in the U.S.

The top four countries on the list include China (27 percent), India (25 percent), South Korea (four percent), and Canada (three percent).

Australia is also a study destination favored by Vietnamese students, with 29,693 Vietnamese nationals at its universities as of September this year.

Vietnam currently ranks sixth in terms of the number of students studying in Australia. 

The top two spots are taken by China and India with 159,485 and 122,391 nationals studying in Australia, respectively.

Also in the top ten countries with a large number of students studying in Australia are the Philippines (5th), Thailand (7th), and Indonesia (10th).

Canada is another top destination for Vietnamese students.

According to Statista.com, 16,130 Vietnamese were studying in Canada in 2022, placing them 8th on the list of countries with large student populations in the North American country.

Comparatively, India had the highest number of students in Canada, at 319,000, followed by the Philippines with 32,425.

Interest in overseas studies amongst Vietnamese nationals extends to non-English speaking countries as well.

As of April 2022, data from the Korean Educational Development Institute reveals that there were 37,940 Vietnamese students in South Korea, making up 22.7 percent of the total 166,869 foreign students in the country.

Japan is also a significant destination for Vietnamese students. According to official data from Japanese educational authorities in 2022, there were 37,405 Vietnamese students studying in the East Asian country.

Much like their counterparts in South Korea, these students engage in diverse educational programs, encompassing undergraduate and graduate degrees, along with Japanese language courses.

Vietnam was the second-most popular source country for Japan's educational institutions, following China (103,882 students) and outranking Nepal (24,257), South Korea (13,701), and Indonesia (5,763).

Data from the Chinese Embassy in Vietnam for the period of September 2021 to September 2022 indicated that around 27,000 Vietnamese students were studying in China.

This number is more than double the figure recorded in 2018, when there were around 11,000 Vietnamese students in China.

Data analyzed by The Education Data Center in Taiwan indicates that by the end of 2022, there were over 23,700 Vietnamese students on the island.

This marked a notable 26-percent increase from the figure reported in 2021.

This number included around 7,000 students participating in Chinese courses and exchange programs, and 16,000 students pursuing degree programs.

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