International students in Korea by nationality, September 2026: 367,660 total; Vietnam 35%, China 24%; D-2 up, D-4-1 down

According to the September 2026 Immigration and Foreign Policy Monthly Statistics published by the Korea Immigration Service of the Ministry of Justice, the number of international students in Korea stood at 367,660 as of September 30, 2026. That is 16.3% more than a year earlier, in September 2025 (316,039). By nationality, Vietnam accounted for 129,253 (35.2%) and China (including ethnic Koreans) for 89,813 (24.4%). Together, the two countries made up 59.6% of the total. By visa status, student visa (D-2) holders rose 22.7% over the year, while Korean language training (D-4-1) holders fell 3.4%. Shares by nationality and rates of change by visa status are calculated from the tables in the monthly statistics.

The number of international students in Korea by nationality and their D-2/D-4 makeup can be checked in Ministry of Justice statistics, which are based on visa status. The ministry’s monthly statistics count all student visa (D-2) holders plus Korean language training (D-4-1) and foreign language training (D-4-7) holders together as “international students.”

367,660 at the end of September, up 51,621 in a year

The 367,660 international students at the end of September 2026 consisted of 287,589 on student visas (D-2), 78,754 in Korean language training (D-4-1) and 1,317 in foreign language training (D-4-7). By share, D-2 accounted for 78.2%, D-4-1 for 21.4% and D-4-7 for 0.4% (calculated). Roughly four in five international students hold D-2 status.

The number grew by 51,621 over the year. The year-on-year growth rate of 16.3% is a figure the ministry stated directly in the monthly statistics.

The annual figures have also risen every year since 2021. International students numbered 163,699 in 2021, 197,234 in 2022, 226,507 in 2023, 263,775 in 2024 and 308,838 in 2025. The year-on-year growth rates listed in the monthly statistics are 20.5% for 2022, 14.8% for 2023, 16.5% for 2024 and 17.1% for 2025. Over the same period, D-2 holders increased from 111,178 to 219,571. However, annual figures and end-of-September figures are compiled at different points in time, so they are not compared directly with each other. The monthly statistics table does not separately state the reference date for the annual figures, and the 2025 annual figure (308,838) is 7,201 lower than the end-of-September 2025 figure (316,039).

Growth came from student visas (D-2), while Korean language training (D-4-1) fell 3.4%

Broken down by visa status, the trends diverge. The table below is calculated from the September 2025 and September 2026 figures in the monthly statistics. Of the year-on-year rates of change, only the 16.3% for the total is the ministry’s published figure; the rates by visa status are calculated.

D-2 grew by 53,257 over the year. That increase is 1,636 larger than the increase in all international students (51,621). This is because, over the same period, D-4-1 fell by 2,746 and foreign language training (D-4-7) rose by 1,110, from 207 to 1,317, so the training statuses as a whole fell by 1,636. In numbers: 53,257 − 2,746 + 1,110 = 51,621. D-4-7 rose sharply, but its share of all international students is 0.4%.

As a result, D-2 drove the growth in international students as of the end of September 2026. The number of people on Korean language training status is slightly lower than a year earlier.

Vietnam 35.2%, China 24.4%: size and visa makeup by nationality

By total, the nationality ranking is Vietnam, China, Uzbekistan, Nepal, Mongolia, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Japan. Japan ranks eighth with 4,638.

The table below summarizes the number of international students and their visa makeup for major nationalities. All shares and ratios are calculated from the tables in the monthly statistics. For Indonesia and Pakistan, the nationality figures did not match when the monthly statistics table was checked against the raw statistical table, so only the student visa (D-2) numbers from the raw statistical table are shown.

This edition of the monthly statistics does not include year-on-year figures by nationality. The table above shows size and makeup on a single day, September 30, 2026.

The China figures include 117 ethnic Korean Chinese nationals, because the monthly statistics count China including ethnic Koreans. The within-country ratio columns do not separately show the foreign language training (D-4-7) ratio. As a result, for some countries the D-2 and D-4-1 ratios add up to less than 100%. For Bangladesh, 86.6% and 5.0% add up to 91.6%, and the remaining 8.4% (897 people) are D-4-7. Other small gaps are due to rounding.

Looking at D-2 alone, the ranking changes. For D-2, the order is China 85,120 (29.6%), Vietnam 77,881 (27.1%), Uzbekistan 23,028 (8.0%), Nepal 22,501 (7.8%) and Mongolia 15,993 (5.6%). These five countries account for 78.1% of all D-2 holders (calculated). Vietnam ranks first among all international students, but China ranks first in D-2.

Korean language training shares vary by nationality: 65.2% of language trainees are Vietnamese

The ratio of D-2 to D-4-1 differs widely from country to country. In China (94.8%), Nepal (94.2%), Uzbekistan (93.8%) and India (90.6%), 90% or more of students hold D-2 status. Their Korean language training ratios range from 4.7% to 9.3%.

By contrast, 39.7% of Vietnamese students hold Korean language training (D-4-1) status, or about four in every 10. The share on Korean language training status is 33.6% for Myanmar, 23.3% for Mongolia and 23.2% for Sri Lanka.

Seen from the perspective of all Korean language trainees, Vietnam’s share stands out even more. Of the 78,754 D-4-1 holders, 51,352, or 65.2%, are from Vietnam (calculated). Roughly two in three Korean language trainees are Vietnamese nationals.

After Vietnam come Mongolia with 4,849, China (including ethnic Koreans) with 4,693 and Myanmar with 4,683. All three are in the 4,000s, with a gap of no more than 166.

Vietnam’s share of all D-2 holders is 27.1%. Vietnam ranks second in D-2 but is by far the largest group in D-4-1. Vietnam’s D-2 count (77,881) is lower than China’s (85,120). For D-4-1, however, Vietnam has 51,352 and China 4,693. This difference in Korean language trainees is why Vietnam outnumbers China in total international students.

South Asia and Myanmar: Nepal centered on D-2, Bangladesh notable for foreign language training

Nepal is the largest South Asian country of origin. Nepalese students number 23,891, or 6.5% of the total, ranking fourth by nationality. Of these, 22,501 (94.2%) hold D-2 status. Korean language training accounts for 1,127 (4.7%) and foreign language training for 263 (1.1%).

Bangladeshi students number 10,651 (2.9%), ranking seventh by nationality. D-2 holders number 9,221 (86.6%). What stands out is foreign language training (D-4-7). Bangladesh has 897 D-4-7 holders, 8.4% within the country, more than those in Korean language training (533, 5.0%). Of all 1,317 D-4-7 holders, 68.1% are Bangladeshi nationals (calculated). Nepal has 263, or 20.0% of D-4-7.

Indian students number 2,512 (0.7%). D-2 accounts for 2,277 (90.6%) and Korean language training for 234 (9.3%). Sri Lankan students number 2,282 (0.6%). D-2 accounts for 1,734 (76.0%), Korean language training for 529 (23.2%) and foreign language training for 19 (0.8%). Even within South Asia, Sri Lanka’s Korean language training ratio is higher than those of Nepal, Bangladesh and India.

According to the raw statistical table, Pakistani D-2 holders number 2,965, ranking ninth among nationalities in D-2. That is 1.0% of all D-2 holders (calculated). Indonesia, in Southeast Asia, has 2,724 D-2 holders (0.9%), ranking 10th in D-2.

Myanmar students number 13,917 (3.8%), ranking sixth by nationality. D-2 accounts for 9,123 (65.6%), Korean language training for 4,683 (33.6%) and foreign language training for 111 (0.8%). Its D-2 count is close to Bangladesh’s (9,221), a difference of 98. Its number of Korean language trainees ranks fourth by nationality, in the same 4,000s range as Mongolia and China.

Growth by nationality in separate statistics with different criteria

Growth trends by nationality can be glimpsed in separate statistics based on different criteria. Because the criteria differ, they cannot be placed side by side with the number of people staying in Korea at the end of September.

In a September 4, 2026, press release titled “International Students Explained Through Data,” the Ministry of Justice compared new enrollment in 2019 and 2025. New enrollment of international students in 2025 was 117,333, up 75% from 2019. By nationality, growth rates were high for Myanmar (828%) and Nepal (768%). These figures are based on people who newly enrolled at Korean universities on student visa (D-2) status (including exchange students). They are not growth rates in the number of people staying in Korea at the end of September.

The Ministry of Education’s 2026 Basic Education Statistics count students enrolled at higher education institutions as of April 1, 2026. Anyone of foreign nationality is counted as an international student regardless of visa status (explanatory notes to the Ministry of Justice’s September 4 press release). In these statistics, too, Vietnam (96,834) outnumbered China (78,890). Because the education ministry’s figures differ from the justice ministry’s end-of-September figures in reference date and coverage, the difference between the two cannot be read as growth over a few months.

How to read the numbers: the criteria behind Ministry of Justice visa statistics

• Definition. Since August 2014, the Ministry of Justice’s “international students” has meant the sum of all student visa (D-2) holders plus Korean language training (D-4-1) and foreign language training (D-4-7) holders.
• Reference date. The nationality tables show the number of people staying in Korea as of September 30, 2026.
• Not the same as all D-4. The D-4 (general training) total in the raw statistical table is 83,805. It also includes other D-4 subcategories. The D-4 holders who count as international students are D-4-1 and D-4-7 combined, 80,071.
• D-2 is not the same as degree programs. Besides degree-program students, D-2 can also include exchange students and others.
• Different from Ministry of Education statistics. The Ministry of Justice counts by visa status. The analysis in the September 4 press release counted student visa (D-2) holders as international students. The Ministry of Education’s Basic Education Statistics count anyone of foreign nationality as an international student regardless of visa status. As a result, the number of international students may differ between the two (Ministry of Justice press release of September 4, 2026, explanatory notes).
• Calculated values. Shares by nationality, within-country ratios and rates of change by visa status were calculated from the monthly statistics tables and rounded at the second decimal place (shown to one decimal place). The rates of change stated directly by the ministry are the annual growth rates for 2022–2025 and the 16.3% year-on-year growth in the total for September 2026.

The size of each nationality group is a reference point showing the routes by which students come to study in Korea. If you are starting with Korean language training, see Spring 2027 Korean language institute admission schedules and costs; for budgets by program, see Cost of studying in Korea 2027: tuition, living expenses and proof of funds. If you are already in Korea, also check How to extend a D-2 or D-4 period of stay and the 2027 TOPIK test schedule.

--- Figures on international students by nationality and visa makeup are based on the Ministry of Justice’s September 2026 Immigration and Foreign Policy Monthly Statistics and the attached raw statistical table (as of September 30, 2026); growth in new enrollment on the Ministry of Justice press release (September 4, 2026); and Ministry of Education figures on the 2026 Basic Education Statistics (as of April 1, 2026).