Vietnamese students continue to head for US

By Phan Anh November 20, 2019 | 03:30 am PT

Students in Hanoi wave Vietnam and U.S. flags to welcome President Donald Trump to Vietnam's capital city, February 2019. Photo by Reuters.

The number of Vietnamese studying in the U.S. has increased for an 18th straight year, according to the Institute of International Education.

Vietnam remained the sixth leading country of origin for international higher education students in the U.S. in 2018-19, accounting for 2.2 percent of them, the institute's Open Doors report released Monday said.

The number was up 0.3 percent from the previous year.

Of the 24,392 Vietnamese students 69.9 percent are undergraduates, 15.2 percent are graduates, 10.2 percent are in optional practical training, and 4.6 percent are doing non-degree programs.

They are contributing nearly $1 billion to the U.S. economy.

China is the leading country of origin followed by India, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, and Canada.

Vietnamese families are spending $3-4 billion a year on sending their children abroad to study, Minister of Education and Training Phung Xuan Nha said last year.

The U.S. is one of the most popular destinations along with the U.K., Japan, Australia, and China, according to government data.