Foreign students keep flowing into Australia

The attacks on Indian students in Australia do not seem to have dampened the flow of students to the country. China Daily reported this week that China and India were the biggest source countries for foreign students studying in Australia. Until June 2009, Australia was hosting 146000 Chinese students (an annual increase of 16% for the past six years) and 121000 Indian students (up by 46% during the same period). Together, these students contribute 38% to Australia's international education sector worth nearly USD12 billion. But, since the numbers are only until June, next year's intake would reveal if there has been any real impact of the attacks. Education services are Australia's third largest export, so the government should be keeping a close watch on the numbers.