4. International students and Canada’s export
Because international student expenditures represent revenue from goods and services sold to residents from overseas, this representation of international student spending is an export of international education services from Canada.
In this section, we compare the value of international education services, as measured by total spending in Canada, with the total export of services and merchandise from Canada. We also provide a comparison of the total value of international student spending by the top 10 source countries with the value of Canada’s exports to these countries.
In Canada’s official account of the balance of payment, spending by international students is captured under “education-related personal travel”, which is part of Canada’s total export in services. We believe that Statistics Canada’s estimate of education-related personal travel may be underestimating the true value of total spending by international students and therefore present an alternate way of evaluating such spending in this report. For a detailed description of how to reconcile these two sets of estimates, please refer to Appendix 3.
Spending by international students and Canada’s trade
We estimate that the total value of international student spending in Canada was almost $47.5 billion in 2024. When compared with Canada’s total export of services in 2024, which includes spending by international students and was worth $236.2 billion Footnote 1 , international student expenditures were equal to 20.1% of the total value of Canada’s service exports. Although not specifically calculated in this report, total spending by international students between 2023 and 2024 would have grown, in spite of the fact that the total number of study permit holders in 2024 reduced by almost 4.0%, due to continuing increase in cost of education and cost of living Footnote 2 . By contrast, Canada’s total export of services in 2023 grew 13.3% from the year before.
Canada is known for its exports from resource sectors like oil, natural gas, forestry and mining. Few people realize that international student spending also makes a substantial contribution.
In 2024, the total amount of international student spending ($47.5 billion) surpassed the value of Canada’s exports in many product categories, for example, wood and wood products ($18.5 billion), fertilizers ($9.1 billion), or electrical or electronic machinery and equipment ($23.9 billion). Total international student spending in 2024 was equivalent to about 6.1% of the total value of Canada’s merchandise exports ($780.8 billion). The impact of total spending of international students on trade is shown in tables 13 and 14.
| Exports of Goods ($billions) | Value |
|---|---|
| 27 - Mineral fuels, mineral oils, bituminous substances and mineral waxes | $199.5 |
| 87 - Motor vehicles, o/t railway or tramway rolling-stock, and parts and accessories thereof | $79.4 |
| 84 - Nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances | $56.2 |
| Total Spending by International Students | $47.5 |
| 71 - Natural/cultured pearls, precious stones & metals, coin etc. | $46.9 |
| 85 - Electrical machinery equip parts thereof; sound recorder etc. | $23.9 |
| 39 - Plastics and Articles Thereof | $22.0 |
| 44 - Wood and articles of wood; wood charcoal | $18.5 |
| 76 - Aluminum and Articles Thereof | $17.5 |
| 26 - Ores, slag and ash | $16.0 |
| 30 - Pharmaceutical products | $15.5 |
| Total merchandise exports | $780.8 |
Source: RKA and Trade Data Online
| Item | Value | International Student Spending as % of Exports |
|---|---|---|
| Total annual spending – all international students | $47.5 billion | — |
| Canada’s exports in services Footnote 1 | $236.2 billion | 20.1% |
| Canada’s exports in merchandise | $780.8 billion | 6.1% |
Source: RKA, Statistics Canada Table 36-10-0007-01 and Trade Data Online
The trade impact of international students from top 10 source countries
In the international student market, the top 10 source countries account for almost three quarters of the overall number of students Footnote 4 . India, China, and Nigeria are the top three source countries for long-term students. Japan and Brazil are the top two source countries for short-term students.
In terms of source countries, the number of students from India alone accounted for almost 40% of the total number of long-term students. Students from the top three source countries (India, China, and Nigeria) accounted for a little over half of all long-term students.
Japan and Brazil are the two top markets for students studying in short-term language training programs in Canada. Students from the top 10 source markets accounted for over 70% of all such students. Detailed information on source countries can be found in appendix 4.
Table 15 shows the estimated annual spending of international students from top 10 source countries, using the number of “long-term” international students as a proxy for the purposes of calculation. We did not include short-term students in the calculation of total spending due to data limitation. In order to create a spending profile for students from each of the top 10 source countries, we applied the same methodology as the one to calculate the total spending profile for all long-term students, using data from IRCC by province and territory and by level of study for each country, and making adjustments where necessary.
| Country | Total Annual Spending | Percentage of Total |
|---|---|---|
| India | $19,047,378,150 | 41.3% |
| China, People’s Republic of | $4,662,031,071 | 10.1% |
| Nigeria | $2,167,082,842 | 4.7% |
| Philippines | $1,327,107,064 | 2.9% |
| France | $1,023,532,379 | 2.2% |
| Iran | $1,139,459,562 | 2.5% |
| Nepal | $1,123,201,141 | 2.4% |
| Vietnam | $799,635,752 | 1.7% |
| Algeria | $787,065,581 | 1.7% |
| Bangladesh | $766,775,319 | 1.7% |
| Total of top 10 countries | $32,843,268,862 | 71.1% |
| All countries | $46,168,776,905 | 100.0% |
Source: RKA using IRCC study permit holder data and applying adjustment
In Table 16, we show the amount of annual spending of international students from the top 10 source countries, compared with the value of Canada’s export of services and export of merchandise to the same countries.
| Item | Value | International Student Spending as % of Exports |
|---|---|---|
| Total annual spending – international students from top 10 source countries | $32.8 billion | |
| Canada’s exports in services to the same countries Footnote 5 | $51.0 billion | 64.4% |
| Canada’s exports in merchandise to the same countries | $45.4 billion | 72.3% |
Source: RKA, Statistics Canada Table 36-10-0007-01 (International transaction in services, by select countries, annual) and Table 12-10-0171-01 (Canadian international merchandise trade by country and by product section, customs-based, annual (x 1,000))
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