WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – Almost a million foreign students enrolled in US higher education programs in 2014-2015, representing a 10 per cent jump year-over-year, the State Department said Monday.

The number of foreign students during the school year surged to 974,926, representing an increase of some 88,000 people, according to the annual Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange.

The strong growth demonstrated that the United States is the choice destination for higher education students, the report said.

The increase is the largest in foreign students in the United States in 35 years, said the report, which has been tracking numbers since 1954. 

According to the data, US universities and colleges are the main recipients of 4.5 million foreign students in the world. And the United States draws twice as many students as the second highest host, Britain.

The number of students from Latin America and the Caribbean grew 19 per cent – the biggest regional surge – thanks largely to a program under President Barack Obama aimed at increasing by 100,000 the number of Latin American students heading to the United States, and vice versa

By country, Brazil recorded the highest change (+ 78 per cent), followed by India (+ 29.4 per cent) and Kuwait (+ 24 per cent). The number of Mexican students increased 15.4 per cent and Venezuelan students 12.4 per cent. 

But China was still the main source of foreign students with one in three coming from the country. 

The study also found that the number of Americans studying abroad increased five percent in the 2013-2014 school year, totalling 304,467.

Though Britain is their top draw, Mexico, Peru and Chile saw double-digit increases in US students.