receives students from all over the world, but China and India particularly dominate the market, according to data from the Institute of International Education’s recent Open Doors Report. The latest data show that new international enrollments dropped by 3.3 percent in 2016/17 and that the total number of international students slightly decreased between 20. faces increasing threats to its dominance of the international student market, not least from its own political and cultural climate, as the country is increasingly seen as unwelcoming to immigrants and foreigners. has been progressively losing market share of students to other countries, both well-established destinations (such as Australia and Germany) and emerging and rising destinations (such as Canada and China). than there were in the 1980s: The number of international students increased by 621 percent during the three and a half decades leading up to the 2015/16 school year alone. There are now twice as many international students in the U.S. International student enrollments over the past decades have soared. The country surpassed the one million mark during the previous academic year. hosted 1,078,822 international students, making it, as mentioned earlier, the top host country of globally mobile students worldwide. Inbound Mobility – Postsecondary Education students go abroad for their education – either for a degree or short-term credit – though the number of such students has increased steadily over time. is and, for a long time, has been the top destination of internationally mobile students worldwide. Student Mobility and Transnational Education NOTE: This country profile largely focuses on the 50 states and the District of Columbia, though many descriptions provided also apply to U.S. All territories have their own territorial governments and exercise a certain degree of autonomy. However, they do not vote in general presidential elections (unless they move to one of the states or Washington, D.C.) and have only nonvoting representation in Congress.
citizens- with the exception of American Samoa– and may freely travel to and within the U.S.
territories as well.) The official status of each territory and its relationship with the U.S. (There are numerous largely uninhabited islands that are U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa. There are five main inhabited territories: Puerto Rico, the U.S. has several overseas territories, all located in the Caribbean Sea and the South Pacific Ocean. The remaining 48 states, all contiguous, are often collectively called the Continental United States.Īdditionally, the U.S. The last two states to be admitted to the Union (a moniker for the union of the states that forms the nation) are separated geographically from the others: Alaska shares a border with Canada and is otherwise surrounded by the Pacific and Arctic Oceans and the state of Hawaii is composed of a group of islands in the mid-Pacific Ocean. There are 50 states and one federal district, the District of Columbia or Washington, D.C., home of the nation’s capital. has a weak federal government and lacks a tradition of vigorous government intervention. Compared with many countries in Europe, for instance, the U.S. Federalism is a critical feature of American government and politics. is a large federal republic located in North America between Canada to the north and Mexico, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea to the south. SECONDARY EDUCATION SYSTEM AND STUDENT MOBILITY TRENDS WEBINAR Overview of the United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, exposed deep fissures in American society politically, racially, culturally, and regionally-and has caused some to call into question the strength of American democracy. Furthermore, the bitter 2016 presidential election, in which businessman Donald J. The country also remains mired in the war in Afghanistan, the longest running war in its history.ĭomestically, income inequality is among the worst of the major advanced economies. hegemony has eroded over the past decade, and China and India are projected to overtake the U.S. However, despite all these attributes, the U.S. in this regard roughly around 2001), and it is the top destination for globally mobile students. also has the second largest higher education system ( China overtook the U.S. Certainly a lot of superlatives can be attributed to the U.S.: the third most populous country in the world with 327.7 million people the largest economy 1 the most powerful military, among others. The United States of America entered the 21st century as the world’s sole superpower after the fall of the Soviet Union in late 1991. Bryce Loo, Senior Research Associate, WES Introduction