fbpx
Market intelligence for international student recruitment from ICEF
10th Mar 2021

Canada’s foreign enrolment fell nearly 17% in 2020

Short on time? Here are the highlights:
  • The number of international students with study permits for Canada declined by 17% in 2020
  • The major sending markets for Canada — including India and China — also registered the sharpest declines last year

New data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) reveals the impact of the pandemic on Canada's foreign enrolment in 2020. IRCC reports that, as of 31 December 2020, there were 530,540 international students holding Canadian study permits.

This represents a nearly 17% decrease from the 638,960 students reported at the same point in 2019. And that in turn represents the first decline in foreign enrolment in Canada in the last 20 years.

In the five years before the pandemic struck last year, the number of international students in Canada had climbed by more than 80%, making the country the fastest-growing among the world's leading study destinations during that period. Even with the year-over-year decline from 2019 to 2020, foreign enrolment grew by 135% overall between 2010 and 2010.

The following illustration maps the leading sources of visiting students in Canada for 2020.

Leading sources of foreign students in Canada, 2020. Source: CBIE/IRCC

Not surprisingly, most – about 80% – of the year-over-year decline for last year can be traced to those same leading sending markets. The net enrolment decline of roughly 108,000 students is largely accounted for by the leading senders of India (-38,515 fewer students in 2020), China (-23,840), France (-5,595), South Korea (-5,940), Brazil (-3,455), Japan (-3,110), Vietnam (-2,600), and Mexico (-2,255).

Not all study permit-holding students would have been in Canada last year, with some outside the country when national borders were closed in the second quarter of 2020 and others unable to travel as planned for programme starts in the second half of the year. This means in part that the study permit data as reported above is a less reliable indicator of actual enrolment in Canada than it would be in a typical year. At the least, some study permit-holding students would have been prevented from continuing studies due to travel restrictions or other disruptions in their study plans. And we can imagine that other students, while also holding valid study permits, would have deferred studies from 2020 to 2021.

But even so that base of valid study permits represents a strong foundation for recovery and future growth. Canadian institutions and schools can also be encouraged in that respect by the supportive policies of the Canadian government.

The country's borders have reopened to international students as of October 2020, and, over the past several months, a series of government announcements have extended additional flexibility in allowing students to qualify for post-study work permits and to hold work permits under more flexible terms.

At the same time, vaccination efforts within the country are accelerating, with the expectation that the population will be largely immunized against COVID-19 by September, and Canadian institutions and schools are laying plans for a return to in-person learning in September 2021.

For additional background, please see:

Most Recent

  • Global survey underscores demand shift from “Big Four” to “Big Ten” Read More
  • Foreign enrolment in Japan reached record levels in 2024 Read More
  • US: Immigration authorities set out the legal basis for revoking student visa status Read More

Most Popular

  • Which countries will contribute the most to global student mobility in 2030? Read More
  • Research shows link between study abroad and poverty alleviation  Read More
  • Beyond the Big Four: How demand for study abroad is shifting to destinations in Asia and Europe Read More

Because you found this article interesting

Foreign enrolment in Japan reached record levels in 2024 Japan has an ambitious plan to expand its international student enrolment. In 2022, the government said it was...
Read more
US: Immigration authorities set out the legal basis for revoking student visa status As we reported recently, widespread reports emerged in April that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials had...
Read more
Canada’s new government strikes a more conservative note on immigration Canada held a federal election on 28 April 2025, through which the Liberal Party was returned to a...
Read more
US administration reverses course; moves to restore cancelled student visas Earlier this month, widespread reports emerged that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been terminating the visa...
Read more
Australia’s Labor Party signals an increase in student visa fees Australians will vote in a federal election on 3 May 2025. The two main political parties contesting the...
Read more
Recruiting international students in Cameroon FAST FACTS Official name: Republic of Cameroon Geography: Cameroon is in Central Africa on the Gulf of Guinea....
Read more
Germany: Outbound language travel grew again in 2024 The 2024 annual report from the German Association of Language Travel Organizers (FDSV) reports continuing growth for the...
Read more
Enrolment surges in Spain’s language teaching sector Enrolment in Spanish language schools in Spain has now surged past pre-pandemic levels. The post-COVID recovery really took...
Read more
What are you looking for?
Quick Links