On international students in Canada:
- Compared with other major study destinations for foreign tertiary students, Canada had more than five percent of the total market share of international students in 2009, ranking 6th in the world after the U.S., UK, Australia, Germany, and France.
- More than 30 percent of international students in Canada surveyed between 2008 and 2009 changed their immigration status in order to legally stay temporarily or permanently in the country. The survey suggested that Canada had the highest rate of international students who changed their student status and legally remained in their country of study among 14 OECD countries surveyed. She was followed by France, Czech Republic, Australia, Netherlands, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Norway among other nations.
Source: OECD’s Report on International Student Mobility (2011)
- In 2009:
Due to the increase in opportunities for students to enter the Canadian workforce through the post-graduation work permit program, 50 percent of international students in Canada were planning to stay after completing their studies.
Half of university students said post-graduate work opportunities in Canada were very important in their decision to study here and almost 3 in 4 college students said the same.
Opportunities for permanent residence in Canada were also more likely to be rated as very important by college students than by university students in choosing to study in Canada. Less than half of university students said it was very important, compared to 2 in 3 college students.
Source: Canadian Bureau for International Education (2009).
- In 2010: Top 5 countries of origin for international students in Canada were: China, India, Korea, Saudi Arabia, and France.
Ontario had the highest number of international students.
217,243 international students were residing in Canada as of December 1st
Source: Facts and Figures, Citizenship and Immigration Canada
- On average, roughly 10,000 former foreign students in Canada became permanent residents every year in 2006 and 2007. The number dropped to an annual average of roughly 9000 for the three years (2008, 2009, and 2010) that followed.
- Canada has been issuing roughly between 15000 and 17000 open post-graduation work permits to former international students in Canada every year since 2008.
- Both combined, former international students and temporary foreign workers who got their permanent resident visas by exclusively applying through the Canadian Experience Class program were 2,806 in 2009, 3,930 in 2010, and 1664 until June 2011. Among them the students were 1,583 in 2009, 1,748 in 2010, and 775 until June 2011.
Source: Citizenship and Immigration Canada
- $6.5 billion: is the dollar value of international students’ contribution to the economy in Canada in 2008.
Source: Roslyn Kunin & Associates, Inc. (2009): Economic Impact of International Students in Canada
On the ageing population and immigration in Canada:
- By 2036, the number of senior citizens in Canada may reach 10.9 million, outnumbering children aged 14 or under for the first time. Canada’s population is expected to be more than 40 million by then.
Source: Statistics Canada (2010)
- Within the next decade, immigration will contribute 100 percent of net labour force growth in Canada.
Source: Canadian Chamber of Commerce (2010)
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Read more:
Canada’s reliance on immigration for population and workforce growth
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Related links:
Economic Impact of International Education in Canada.
Report on international student mobility (OECD).
Canada First: The 2009 Survey of International Students (CBIE).
Staying – and Succeeding: Settlement Service Gaps of International Student Migrants.