LOS ANGELES, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- The University of Southern California, with its primary campuses in Los Angeles, is home to the largest number of international students in the United States, said a study released Monday.
With 6,881 international students enrolled in the 2005-2006 school year, USC remains the country's leading host institution for international students for the fifth straight year, according to Open Doors 2006, the annual report on international academic mobility published by the Institute of International Education (IEE).
Meanwhile, California leads the nation with 75,385 international students at schools throughout the state.
The study, published with the support of the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, also shows that record numbers of Americans studying abroad.
There were about 205,983 U.S. students abroad in 2005-2006 -- an increase of about 8 percent from the previous year and up 144 percent from 1994-1995, when there were only 84,403 students abroad.
The surge builds on steady increases over the past few decades, and is buoyed in part by growing interest in destinations in Asia and South America, according to the study.
While the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain and France remain the perennial favorites for U.S. students, Mexico ranks sixth among the 20 most popular destinations, and China made its way to eighth place with 6,389 students, a 35 percent increase from the previous year.
And the total number of international students enrolled in U.S. higher education institutions remained steady at 564,667 in 2005-2006.
Among international students, India is the leading place of origin with 75,503 students in the United States last year, followed by China, Korea and Japan.
