Students' study abroad preferences trending toward Asia: Survey

More students from the Chinese mainland are opting to study elsewhere in Asia due to similarities in culture and relatively lower costs, according to a new report released on Tuesday.

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Japan and Singapore have become popular destinations for Chinese students pursuing their studies outside the mainland, the report said.

For students pursuing undergraduate degrees or lower, Hong Kong and Japan tied for the fourth most popular destination this year, favored by 15 percent by the surveyed students, followed by Singapore with 14 percent.

In 2019, only 10 percent of students had chosen Hong Kong, and 9 percent had chosen Japan and Singapore.

The United States, the United Kingdom and Canada clinched the top three spots.

While the United States remained the most favored overseas study destination this year, chosen by 34 percent of the respondents, this was a drop from 45 percent in 2019.

The percentage of students going to the UK and Canada stayed relatively unchanged over the past five years.

For students pursuing postgraduate studies, the trend is similar.

The percentage of students going to the United States for postgraduate studies dropped from 45 to 30 percent from 2019 to 2023, while those going to Hong Kong increased from 14 to 22 percent, and Singapore from 9 to 15 percent.

The United Kingdom has remained the most popular overseas study destination for postgraduates in 2023, surpassing the US for four consecutive years.

The report was based on a survey conducted by Vision Overseas Consulting Co, a subsidiary of New Oriental Education and Technology Group of 9,551 students who plan to go to school overseas. It is the ninth consecutive year the report was released.