The number of Chinese students enrolling in overseas universities and institutions dropped to its lowest level in a decade in 2025, according to data from China’s Ministry of Education. Around 570,000 students headed abroad during the year, a drop of 20% from the historical peak of 2019 and a return to the level of 2016. The drop represents an apparent shift in attitudes toward what was once considered a prestigious choice.
There appears to be two main factors behind this shift. One attraction for studying in Western countries in particular, has been the opportunities this provided for post-study employment there, and the potential to then settle down. Tighter immigration and employment policies in many countries has made this more difficult in recent years, and as tuition costs are also rising, the attraction of countries such as the US, UK, Canada and Australia has fallen. Meanwhile, back home, overseas diplomas are no longer as attractive to employers as they once were—due to a combination of an oversaturation of them, as well as a sense that domestic universities are increasing in prestige.
Another trend is that the Chinese who are still choosing to study abroad, are increasingly choosing locations closer to home, such as Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and—prior to current bilateral issues—Japan. At the same time, the number of foreign students enrolling in Chinese universities has dropped dramatically from ten years ago. A large proportion of overseas students in China now is made up of students from countries that are part of the Belt and Road Initiative, and many of them are on scholarships provided by the Chinese state.