The Office for National Statistics said this was "largely due" to a decline in the number of foreign students despite an increase in the number of arrivals from China - the UK's largest overseas student market.

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The second highest number of foreign students in the United States come from China, and we've seen a 50 percent increase in the study of Chinese among our own students.

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China thus leads India and South Korea as the primary country of origin for foreign students.

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