The Washington DC think tank Brookings Institution has produced a report that builds significantly on Open Doors with a kind of granular data that provides arresting details – and some correction to long held perceptions - including which countries and cities the students come from, how much they spend for their degree etc. For instance, it has long been thought Indians student population in the US is approximately 100,000 (based on Open Doors study) but the Brookings report, based on data from 2008 to 2012, puts the number of Indian F-1 visa holders (for full-time students) at 168,034, ranking it next to China at first place (out of 74 countries) with 284,179 F-1 visa holders. South Korea came third at about 110,000 F-1 holders. Saudi Arabia is a surprise 4th with 53,000 and neighboring Canada 5th at 51,000.

Read the Economic Times news report here.