Canada tops the list as the premier selection for international students In 2025, as indicated by a recent poll.
Even the United States was outpaced as the top destination where students expressed the greatest interest in relocating for their studies.
ApplyBoard, a Canadian-founded platform for students, has recently released the findings from their latest study. international student survey .
Approximately 850 students from across the globe shared their opinions on international education.
This encompasses where students aspire to study, how their inclination towards overseas education has evolved, reasons behind selecting specific academic fields, and additional related insights.
According to ApplyBoard, Canada continued to be the "top choice" for international studies in 2025 based on student surveys.
Nearly all of the students polled expressed an interest in Canada as a destination for their studies, with 94% indicating that they have at least some curiosity about pursuing education in this country.
To break it down further, 55% exhibit extreme interest in pursuing studies in Canada.
Next, 24% express strong interest, 12% show moderate interest, 4% have slight curiosity, and 6% are completely uninterested in enrolling as students here.
According to ApplyBoard, a greater number of students expressed they are "extremely interested" in studying in the United States compared to any other nation. However, a higher proportion of students reported being either "very interested" or "moderately interested" in Canada as their study destination.
Therefore, Canada remains at the top based on the weighted average!
Canada is one of the "Big Four" leading choices for higher education in English-speaking countries, alongside Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Based on data from ApplyBoard, 65% of prospective students are keen on well-regarded study locations such as Australia, Canada, Germany, Ireland, the U.K., and the U.S.
When questioned about how alterations in government policies or regulations have affected their desire to study overseas, 30% of those surveyed indicated that these changes significantly boosted their enthusiasm for pursuing education in Canada.
Next, 18% indicated that it moderately increased, followed by 28.8% who stated there was no alteration, then 15.8% mentioned a slight reduction, with 7.6% reporting a significant decrease.
Government and policy alterations exerted the greatest impact, whether beneficial or detrimental, on students' inclination to pursue education in Canada or the U.S., more so than in any other nation.
In the previous year, the federal government declared modifications to foreign student visas .
In 2025 and 2026, the issuance of new international student permits will decrease by 10%, totaling approximately 437,000. This is a reduction from the expected 485,000 permits issued in 2024.
The number of permits distributed across each province will differ as it depends on their populations. Certain provinces will experience "more substantial decreases" compared to others.
Enjoy this? Explore more of our offerings below! Narcity noticeboard For information about employment opportunities, benefits, travel details, and much more!
The cover image of this article was utilized solely for illustrative purposes.