Record 250,000 Vietnamese Studying Abroad

Nearly 250,000 Vietnamese are studying abroad, from secondary school to postgraduate levels, a record high.

The Ministry of Education and Training reported this figure at the Higher Education Conference on 17/9. Around 4,000 of these students receive government scholarships. The rest are self-funded or rely on other scholarship sources.

The Ministry last reported the number of Vietnamese students abroad in late 2023, with over 200,000. This number has increased by more than 10,000 compared to the pre-Covid-19 period (2020). Popular destinations for Vietnamese students include South Korea (approximately 43,300 students), Japan (36,300), Australia (33,000), the US (31,300), Taiwan (27,400), China (23,500), and Canada (17,100).

Last October, at a Ministry workshop, Deputy Minister Nguyen Van Phuc noted that Vietnam is among the countries with a large and growing number of students studying abroad. This presents not only an opportunity for learners to access global knowledge, but also contributes positively to international integration and develops a high-quality workforce for the country.

Conversely, in the past academic year, Vietnam hosted nearly 600 international students, mainly from Laos and Cambodia, with a smaller number from Russia and China. The total number of international students in Vietnam is over 15,000.