Oz Trades Places with the US – Again

14:27 25/10/2023

Australia has surpassed the US as the world’s leading English-speaking host of Vietnamese students, according to the Australian Department of Education. As of July 2023, there were 27,764 Vietnamese students in Australia, 4% of the total international enrollment and a 39% growth rate compared to the same period last year.

Australia has surpassed the US as the world’s leading English-speaking host of Vietnamese students, according to the Australian Department of Education. As of July 2023, there were 27,764 Vietnamese students in Australia, 4% of the total international enrollment and a 39% growth rate compared to the same period last year. As in the US, which enrolled 24,072 Vietnamese students at all levels in September 2023, Vietnam ranks 6th among sending countries. The total number of international students in Australia during the January-July 2023 period was 710,893, a 34% increase over the same period in 2022.

[One caveat is that the international student number is a head count of all students who have studied on a student visa within a reference period.  A student can thus be counted across multiple years if their period of study spans two or more years.]

For those of us who track these data, the Australian government is the best at providing up-to-date and detailed information. As you can see from the images below, the majority of Vietnamese students were enrolled in higher education institutions with significant numbers in VET (vocational and education training) and ELICOS (English-language courses) programs. Australia is a viable option for young Vietnamese who want and need to improve their English proficiency, unlike the US. Obtaining a student visa (F-1) to study English there is virtually impossible. (As of last month, the number of students enrolled in “language training ” programs was 792.)

Not surprisingly, the most popular higher ed program is the bachelor’s degree, and the top major is management and commerce followed by information technology, engineering, health, creative arts, society and culture, natural physical sciences, and education. Similar to the US, there are more female (56%) than male (44%) students in Australia.

Mark A. Ashwill, Ph.D.
Managing Director & Co-Founder