Number of Bangladeshi students in US rose 300% in 10 years

The number of Bangladeshi students studying in the United States have increased by more than 300 percent in the last decade.

In 2011-2012 academic year, the number was only 3,314, while in 2022-2023 academic year, the number stands at 13,563, according to the Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange 2023.

"The number of Bangladeshi students studying in the US is at an all-time high," according to Open Doors, the information resource on international students and scholars in the United States.

The US Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the Institute of International Education have jointly released the annual Open Doors Report on Monday.

Z Islam, a Bangladeshi and former student of Columbia University, said that Bangladeshi students are going to the US these days because of the easy accessibility to student loan and higher disposable income of parents compared to the 1980s or 90s.

"More and more students are choosing to move abroad as a way of kickstarting the immigration process that will ultimately allow them to permanently settle in the US in their adult lives," she told The Daily Star.

Islam also said that the financial returns of a degree from abroad can often be more than a degree from local university. This is because of the higher acceptance of North American degrees in the global job market.

According to the Open Doors Report, the current number of Bangladeshi students in the US represents a 28 percent increase from the previous academic year (2021-2022) and one of the highest increases in an academic year in the world, it says.

The number of Bangladeshi undergraduate students increased by more than 50 percent, with 2,500 students enrolled in undergraduate studies during the current academic year. Nearly 10,000 Bangladeshi graduate students are studying at US institutions, making Bangladesh seventh in the world for graduate student enrollment America.

The total number of international students in the US surpassed one million and rebounded to near pre-pandemic level. The 2022-2023 academic year was the fastest growth rate of international students studying in the US in four decades, according to the report.

"We are excited to see that more and more Bangladeshi students are choosing the United States for higher education study," said US Ambassador Peter Haas in a statement.

"From engaging in ground-breaking research to enriching campus life through cultural programmes, Bangladeshi students continue to make impressive achievements across US campuses," he added.