Trend · rank 227 of 250

International student flows

Study destinations are diversifying as visas, costs and geopolitics change, redistributing the tuition revenue, talent and personal networks through which nations build long-term familiarity and influence.

Information & InfluenceDiplomacy & influencework skillsmobilitygeoeconomics

Second pass: Carried forward from the first pass unchanged. Held by all three panel models.

Sensitivity and network position

Rank
227of 250
Sensitivity
5.8rank 199
Breadth
0of 20 scenarios High or above
PageRank
14.2rank 229
Eigenvector
2.3
Betweenness
0.0
Links
4trends at Moderate similarity or above
Composite
8.9

Attention over three years

How much this trend is read about on Wikipedia and searched for on Google, week by week, set against the typical trend in the list so that what moves every trend at once is taken out. 100 is this trend's own three-year average. The score measures public attention, which is not the same as the strength of the force: a trend can deepen unnoticed, and a news event can lift attention for a fortnight.

Now
91
Over a year
−11%Steady
Over three years
−22%
Peak
16525 May 2025
Sources
Bothagreement -0.01
Coverage
5languages · 74 nations

Trailing 4-week average. 100 is this trend’s three-year average.

By language

Wikipedia reading in each language edition where the trend’s pages are read enough to measure (5 of 28). Share is of all the readers counted.

LanguageShareNowOver a yearThree years
English82%76−26%
Russian8%113+15%
Chinese4%105−14%
Vietnamese3%117+41%
Japanese2%108+8%

By country

Google search interest over the three years, as a share of each country’s searching. 100 is the nation where interest is highest. The search terms are English, which favours countries that search in English.

Nepal

Ghana

Zimbabwe

Nigeria

Rwanda

Ethiopia

Pakistan

Bangladesh

Sri Lanka

Kenya

Mongolia

Cameroon

100

91

62

55

46

43

41

39

37

35

31

25

The 12 highest of 74 nations with a reading.

By region and G20 member

Attention to this trend inside each place, from Google searches made in its countries and Wikipedia reading in the languages mostly read there, averaged where both exist. Each line compares the trend with its own past in that place; the lines do not compare places.

Regions

PlaceRead fromNow90 days1 year3 yearsThree years
North AmericaGoogle in 2 countries + Wikipedia in English80−10%−22%−27%
EuropeGoogle in 9 countries155+28%+84%+93%
ChinaGoogle in 1 country92+33%−15%−13%
Indo-PacificGoogle in 11 countries + Wikipedia in Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese122+13%+26%+32%
South AsiaGoogle in 4 countries87+34%−10%−29%
Gulf and Middle EastGoogle in 6 countries113+24%+19%+23%
AfricaGoogle in 6 countries74+38%−3%−54%
Latin America and CaribbeanGoogle in 5 countries119−19%+68%+58%
Russia and EurasiaGoogle in 3 countries + Wikipedia in Russian113+17%+54%+12%

G20 members

PlaceRead fromNow90 days1 year3 yearsThree years
ArgentinaGoogle117−37%+37%+102%
AustraliaGoogle96+30%+4%−25%
BrazilGoogle128−2%+82%+62%
CanadaGoogle69+36%−25%−52%
ChinaGoogle92+33%−15%−13%
FranceGoogle151+8%+95%+151%
GermanyGoogle197+48%+142%+174%
IndiaGoogle101+30%+6%−17%
IndonesiaGoogle168+44%+114%+137%
ItalyGoogle169+42%+108%+152%
JapanGoogle + Wikipedia in Japanese111−5%+12%+20%
South KoreaGoogle176+86%+118%+100%
MexicoGoogle109−25%+42%+35%
RussiaWikipedia in Russian113+3%+16%+27%
Saudi ArabiaGoogle99+35%−4%+6%
South AfricaGoogle93+18%+14%−28%
TürkiyeGoogle133+18%+44%+88%
United KingdomGoogle139+88%+29%+23%
United StatesGoogle + Wikipedia in English83−9%−21%−21%

Relation to each scenario

A trend relates to a scenario when it changes how likely the scenario is, how hard it lands, or is itself sharply changed by it. Each score is the median of three scores given separately by the members of the model panel.

RelationScenarioFamily
3 · ModerateA great-power agreement lowers economic security barriers S13 ↗Geopolitical and security
1 · Very lowCritical trade divides into rival blocs S01Economic and trade
1 · Very lowAn AI deployment step causes abrupt labour displacement S08Technology and infrastructure
1 · Very lowA cross-regional market access compact redirects investment S12 ↗Economic and trade
1 · Very lowAI-directed research produces a reproducible discovery step S17 ↗Technology and infrastructure
0 · Not relatedA global funding seizure reaches sovereign balance sheets S02Economic and trade
0 · Not relatedA regional war closes a globally important sea route S03Geopolitical and security
0 · Not relatedHybrid coercion ends in an infrastructure blackout S04Geopolitical and security
0 · Not relatedA disputed transfer of power breaks effective government S05Geopolitical and security
0 · Not relatedTwo breadbasket failures trigger a food availability crisis S06Energy, climate and resources
0 · Not relatedA major disaster disables the national economic core S07Energy, climate and resources
0 · Not relatedA cryptographic breakthrough invalidates digital trust S09Technology and infrastructure
0 · Not relatedA novel respiratory pathogen exceeds health surge capacity S10Health
0 · Not relatedA creditor agreement releases fiscal capacity S11 ↗Economic and trade
0 · Not relatedA verified Middle East settlement restores access S14 ↗Geopolitical and security
0 · Not relatedCheap firm clean power becomes available at scale S15 ↗Energy, climate and resources
0 · Not relatedA validated farming package raises water-efficient output S16 ↗Energy, climate and resources
0 · Not relatedA public service platform reaches inclusive operation S18 ↗Technology and infrastructure
0 · Not relatedAffordable preventive treatments reduce chronic illness S19 ↗Health
0 · Not relatedA live outbreak proves rapid distributed pandemic defence S20 ↗Health

Similarity = 0.3 × shared tags (Jaccard) + 0.3 × likeness of scenario profiles (cosine) + 0.3 × likeness of names and descriptions (TF-IDF cosine) + 0.1 if in the same capability domain, cut into seven levels at 0.12, 0.22, 0.33, 0.45, 0.58, 0.72. Shown at Moderate and above.

SimilarityTrendThemeRank
4 · HighResearch security & science decouplingDiplomacy & influence113
3 · ModerateMiddle-power diplomatic leverageDiplomacy & influence36
3 · ModerateTechnical standards competitionDiplomacy & influence50
3 · ModerateCredibility of external commitmentsDiplomacy & influence65