Where Vietnamese students actually go — and why the ranking surprises most schools

Most institutions build a Vietnam plan around an assumption about where Vietnamese families already look. It is worth checking that assumption against the numbers, because the ranking is not the one most admissions teams expect.

The 2025 figures

According to the Department of International Cooperation at Vietnam's Ministry of Education and Training, more than 250,000 Vietnamese students were studying abroad in 2025. The destinations, in order:

• South Korea — about 43,300
• Japan — about 36,300
• Australia — about 33,000
• United States — about 31,300
• Taiwan — about 27,400
• China — about 23,500
• Canada — about 17,100

What the order tells you

The two largest destinations are both in East Asia, and both are cheaper and closer than the English-speaking four. That is not a statement about quality. It is a statement about what a Vietnamese family can plan for with certainty: published fees, a five-hour flight, a visible alumni network, and a cost that can be calculated before anyone signs anything.

If you are recruiting from a Western institution, you are not competing only with peer institutions in your own country. You are competing with a Korean private university that publishes its tuition by semester and awards scholarships from a printed score table, where a family can work out their own number before they apply.

Three consequences for your plan

• Cost clarity beats cost level. Families do not only ask "how much". They ask "how much, exactly, including housing, and what happens in year two". An institution that answers that plainly competes better than one that is cheaper but vague.
• Distance is a real objection, not a soft one. Flight cost and time affect how often a family expects to see their child. Say something concrete about it rather than hoping it does not come up.
• The decision often happens before your first contact. The shortlist forms in conversations you are not in — with agents, with relatives, with other parents. Being present in Vietnamese, in advance, is what changes that.

Where to start

A Vietnam strategy that begins with "who is already deciding, and on what information" is more useful than one that begins with a fair booking. VNIS works with institutions on both halves — the brand and content side and the representation side — and the sequence matters more than the spend.

See how the service lines fit together: Services for institutions →