Demographic structure and international student mobility: An investigation of chinese students in Australia

Recently, an increasing number of Chinese students has come to Australia to study; some of them opted to settle in Australia as permanent residents while others chose to return to China. More Chinese students are pursuing further studies overseas due to China's recent rapid economic growth, which increased the ranks of middle- and upper-middle class families who have the means to send their children to study abroad. The trend also reflects China's intergenerational wealth transfer in the "first demographic dividend" period. This paper reviews the recent patterns of international mobility of Chinese students to Australia and examines the factors that affect Chinese students' settlement decisions. The paper links the patterns of international mobility of students to the demographic structure of the sending country.