Slight Increase in Foreign Students From Africa at U.S. Colleges and Universities

From 1992 to 2001 there was a steady increase in the number of foreign students at U.S. colleges and universities. During this period the number of African students at U.S. colleges and universities doubled.

But after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, it became more difficult to obtain a visa to study in the United States. In the 2002-03 academic year there were 40,193 students from Africa at American colleges and universities. Two years later, enrollments of students from Africa had dropped by more than 10 percent to 36,100.

Now it appears that the decline in students from Africa has abated. According to a new survey by the Institute of International Education, in the 2005-06 academic year there was a total of 36,308 students from African nations at U.S. colleges and universities. This was an increase of 208 students, or 0.5 percent, from the 2004-05 academic year.