The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD) combines data on gross domestic
expenditures on research & development (R&D) with
data on the number of researchers in a country or
region to estimate R&D spending per researcher. Despite
uncertainties in the precise size and characteristics of this
specialized subset of the S&E workforce, the OECD data
provide a reasonable starting point for estimating the
worldwide growth in the number of researchers.
The number of researchers in the U.S. continues to grow
steadily, and the U.S. leads in investment per researcher.
However, many nations have recognized the value of high-
skilled S&E workers to their economies and increasingly
compete for this globally mobile talent.
U.S. investment in researchers has increased only slightly
since 2009, while China has substantially increased its rate
of investment.
Rising Competition for Global S&E Talent
R&D Investment Per Researcher: 2009 – 2016
Constant 2012 dollars
$356,085
$233,924
$252,157
$210,628
$199,524
$339,612
$220,595
$201,262
$198,279
$169,227
2009 2016
Japan
USA
EU
China
S. Korea
FOREIGN-BORN STUDENTS AND WORKERS IN
THE U.S. SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING ENTERPRISE
Foreign-born individuals have long been major contributors to science and engineering (S&E) in the United States. The
following four indicators, drawn from 2020 Science & Engineering Indicators, illustrate key data on people from around the
world who come to the U.S. to study and work.
An Increasing Percentage of the U.S.’ Most Educated Scientists are Foreign-Born
Percent of All Science & Engineering
Workers Who Are Foreign-Born
The U.S. has long benefitted from the inflow of foreign-
born scientists and engineers and the S&E skills and
knowledge they bring. Foreign-born is a broad category,
ranging from long-term U.S. residents with strong roots
in the U.S. to recent immigrants whose main social,
educational, and economic ties are in their countries of
origin. In 2017, half of the foreign-born individuals in the
United States with an S&E highest degree were from Asia,
with India (23%) and China (10%) as the leading countries
of origin. For the foreign-born holders of S&E doctorates,
however, China provided a higher proportion (24%) than
India (15%). These patterns by source region and country
for foreign-born S&E highest degree holders in the United
States have been stable since at least 2003.
In academia, just about half (49%) of U.S.-trained postdocs
were born overseas, as are 29% of full-time S&E faculty.
The share of foreign-born S&E workers has increased
signicantly in the last 25 years. In most S&E occupations,
the higher the degree level, the greater the proportion of
the workforce that is foreign-born.
The percentages are highest for doctorates in engineering
and math and computer sciences — about 6 out of 10.
1993
2003
2013
2017
0%
10% 20% 30%
40%
50%
Bachelor’s Master’s PhD
Detail: Foreign-Born PhDs Working in S&E Fields: 2017
Computer and mathematical scientists
Biological, agricultural, and life scientists
Physical and related scientists
Social and related scientists
Engineers
0% 20%
40%
60%
National Science Board
Science & Engineering Indicators
2020
National Science Board NationalScienceBrd@nsf.gov | 703.292.7000
NSB Indicators Resource Page | nsf.gov/nsb/sei
National Science Foundation
ncses.nsf.gov/indicators
Temporary Visa Holders are a Large Share of S&E Graduate Students in the U.S.
Science & Engineering Graduate Students, by Citizenship and Field: 2000 to 2017
Full-time students in their first year of enrollment
International Science & Engineering
Students Enrolled in U.S. Institutions of
Higher Education: 2012 to 2018
National Science Board NationalScienceBrd@nsf.gov | 703.292.7000
NSB Indicators Resource Page | nsf.gov/nsb/sei
National Science Foundation
ncses.nsf.gov/indicators
International Enrollment Trends May Be Changing
International students are a critical part of the U.S.
S&E enterprise, especially in the high demand fields of
engineering and computer science, where they account
for over 56% of graduate enrollments. The majority —
approximately 7 in 10 — choose to stay and work in the
U.S. after completing their doctorate degrees.
Overall, “stay rates” have risen from 58% in 2001 to 71% in
2017. But the stay rates for students from China and India,
the two largest source countries for U.S. S&E doctorate
recipients with temporary visas, have declined in the last
15 years — falling from approximately 95% to 83% for
China and from 89% to 83% for India.
As more countries oer their students reasons to stay in
their own country for their education or to return home
after earning a degree, the U.S. could face a shortage in
a critical segment of its workforce.
As seen in the gure to the right, international enrollments
in S&E higher education in the U.S. fell 1.8% between 2016
and 2018, representing a notable decline compared with
the pre-2016 growth trend.
Since 2000, the U.S. has increased its capacity in S&E
graduate programs. During that time, the number of
domestic students entering graduate school in the natural
sciences & engineering increased by about half, while the
number of foreign students in those areas has doubled.
In 2017, nearly half of the rst-year, full-time graduate
students in the natural sciences & engineering were
foreign-born.
In 2017, the total number of international students enrolled
in S&E graduate programs in the U.S. was 229,310. They
earned just over one-third of S&E doctorates and master’s
degrees. These students are highly concentrated in
engineering and mathematics and computer sciences.
The top countries of origin in 2018 continue to be India and
China, together accounting for 68% of the international S&E
graduate students in the U.S.
Students
Citizens and permanent residents
entering graduate education in
natural sciences and engineering
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Natural Sciences
Natural Sciences
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Undergraduate students
Graduate students
Engineering
Engineering
Temporary visa holders
entering graduate education in
natural sciences and engineering
2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2017
-24%
-14%
2001
66,681
53.8%
22,985
52,037
14,644
24,762
32,551
6,571
57,313
46.2%
4,764
14,967
13,588
8,603
34,659
17,759
60.2%
43,262
39.8%
28,555
300,000
250,000
200,000
150,000
100,000
50,000
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 20182017
5-year trend line
