Malaysia becoming a choice destination for international students

Malaysia has one of the highest proportions of international versus domestic students in the academic field with the average ratio being almost 1:10.

Over the past decade, Malaysia had become the fastest growing destination for international students because it is affordable and accessible. Every year, there is an increase of more than 16 per cent.

The country hopes to attract 200,000 international students by 2020. There are about 135,506 international students, of which 27,812 are postgraduate students, to date. Most of these students are enrolled in private institutions.

The top 10 countries that contributed to the new applications last year are from Bangladesh, Nigeria, China, Indonesia, Pakistan, Yemen, Libya, Sudan, Kazakhstan and India.

Notably, there is a growing interest from countries such as the United States, Australia, Japan, and the United Kingdom.