WASHINGTON: The number of students from India enrolled in US universities and colleges crossed 100,000 for the first time ever this year even as international enrollments in America registered the largest percentage increase since 1980, defying broad economic trends.

As the number of international students at colleges and universities in the US increased by 8% to an all-time high of 671,616 in the 2008/09 academic year, students from India made up 103,260 of the overall number, according to the Open Doors report, which is published annually by the Institute of International Education (IIE) in collaboration with the US government.

The Indian numbers went up 9.2 per cent from 94,563 in 2007/2008 to cross 100,000 for the first time to retain its position as the top place of origin for international students in the United States. China remained in second place, although there was a sharp 21 per cent spike in students from China, going up from 81,127 last academic year to 98,235 this year. South Korea (69,000 to 75,000) remained in third place.

This is the eighth consecutive year that India has remained in the top spot. In course of a preview of the forthcoming visit to Washington of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh next week, Indian officials said on Monday that Indian student inflow contributed nearly $ 3 billion to the US economy last year. Overall, international students contribute $17.8 billion to the US economy, through their expenditures on tuition and living expenses, according to the US Department of Commerce.

Authors of the report said the findings do not reflect the full impact of the past year's economic downturn, since decisions to come to the United States to study were made before the financial effects were fully felt in the sending countries.

They also reported that the largest growth this year was seen in undergraduate enrollments, which increased by 11%, compared to a 2% increase in graduate enrollments. This growth was driven largely by increases in undergraduate students from China, they said, suggesting that increased affluence is enabling Chinese to send their children to US for undergrad education, where there is typically less scholarship and funding.

According to Open Doors 2009, universities in California hosted the largest number of foreign students with 93,124, up 10%, followed by New York with 74,934, up 7%, and Texas with 58,188, up 12%. The New York City metropolitan area continues to be the leading city for international students, with 59,322 enrolled in area schools, up 8%. The Los Angeles metropolitan area is in second place with 42,897 international students, up 11%.

For the eighth consecutive year, Open Doors reports that the University of Southern California hosted the largest number of international students, this year reporting 7,482. New York University held in second place with 6,761

international students, and Columbia University, also holding steady in third place, hosted 6,685. Rounding out the top five 2008/09 host institutions are University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (6,570 students) and Purdue

University (6,136 students). Open Doors reports that 171 US campuses each hosted more than 1,000 students.

The top ten most popular fields of study for international students in the United States in 2008/09 were Business and Management (21% of total), Engineering (18%) and Physical and Life Sciences (9%), Social Sciences (9%), Mathematics and Computer Science (8%), Health Professions (5%), Fine & Applied Arts (5%), Intensive English Language (4%), Humanities (3%), Education (3%), and Agriculture (1%).

There was also a significant 20 per cent uptick in the number of American students studying in India, part of the an overall growth in American students going abroad for academic purpose. The number of Americans studying in India rose from 2627 in 2006/2007 to 3146 in 2007/2008, making India the 17th in the list of countries for US students. The top five spots went to UK, Italy, Spain, France and China, the last of which had more than 13,000 American students.