Revealed: World’s Best Countries For International Students, 2021

The United States has been recognized as the best country in the world for international students, according to the CEOWORLD magazine, while Australia and the United Kingdom placed second and third, respectively. The 2021 rankings of the world’s best countries for international students placed Canada in 4th ahead of France (No. 5), while Germany ranked 6th, Switzerland 7th, and Japan 8th.

Studying abroad renders you something more than just an educational qualification. It provides you an extra edge over others with that country’s culture, international language proficiency, better career opportunities, varied activities, and interests. If you too are thinking to study abroad, you must have been puzzled regarding the country to pick for your further studies. International students are always on the lookout for the best countries to study abroad, we have compiled a list of the most preferred destination for international students.

Overall, among the top 15 best countries for international students in the world for 2021, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, and 15th positions are held by Russia, China, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, the United Arab Emirates, and Sweden.

World’s Best Countries For International Students, 2021

These rankings were based on 11 equally weighted indicators: education system; access to higher-quality teaching; number of research institutions; university funding and endowment; specialization expertise; industrial linkage; institutional output by research; higher education institutions perform in the various global rankings; government expenditure on education total (% of GDP); student visa; and post-study work visa. World’s best countries for international students ranking is an annual perception-based global survey of university students, industrialists, academic educational professionals, assistant professors, associate professors, adjunct professors, university professors, visiting professors, global business executives, and education policy experts. The survey was conducted between December 12, 2020, and January 20, 2021, gathering over 185,200 replies. A mix of federally run and decentralized education systems rank highest.

Detailed findings & methodology: In order to determine the rankings, researchers at the CEOWORLD magazine compiled analyzed, and compared 46 countries across 11 equally weighted indicators: education system; access to higher-quality teaching; number of research institutions; university funding and endowment; specialization expertise; industrial linkage; institutional output by research; higher education institutions perform in the various global rankings; government expenditure on education total (% of GDP); student visa; and post-study work visa. Each attribute was graded on a 1-100 scale.

Sources: CEOWORLD magazine put together a panel of experts to go over data points culled from sources like the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), World Economic Forum, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), U.S. News & World Report, the United Nation’s Economic and Social Council (UNESOC), Times Higher Education´s World University Rankings, QS Top Universities, ShanghaiRanking Consultancy (the Academic Ranking of World Universities; ARWU), Center for World University Rankings (CWUR), CWTS Leiden Ranking, Reuters World’s Top 100 Innovative Universities, University Ranking by Academic Performance, Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and Progress in International Reading Study (PIRLS), and the World Bank.

Detailed survey data and information collected directly from 185,200 individuals, across 11 data points. Rankings should not be viewed as the most important aspect when choosing a country for higher education, and are merely one element to consider. However, this is by no means a comprehensive list, while the countries above are the “CEOWORLD magazine’s World’s Best Countries For international students, 2021,” there may be many other countries that offer excellent opportunities. University students, industrialists, academic educational professionals, school teachers, assistant professors, associate professors, adjunct professors, university professors, visiting professors, global business executives, and education policy experts were asked to rate countries on a scale of 1 “marginal” to 100 “outstanding” or “don’t know.”

The margin of sampling error for the full sample of 185,200 respondents is plus or minus 1.2 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, one should bear in mind that as in all survey research, there are possible sources of error—such as coverage, nonresponse, and measurement error——that could affect the results.