Vietnam is one of the few economies in the world this year to have a favourable growth outlook. At roughly 7–7.5% real GDP growth projected for 2026 by IMF and ASEAN, it is outperforming most other major economies not just in Asia, but around the world. The country is attracting record levels of foreign investment, including in education, because its growth is diversified and thus relatively resistant to external shocks. There is is robust demand for Vietnamese products and services both abroad and at home.

Vietnam’s resiliency throughout a very tough year for many economies dovetails with positive trends in outbound mobility from the country and TNE activity within it.

Big jumps in enrolment abroad

The number of Vietnamese students in universities, language institutes, and schools is growing in several destinations. According to the most recent government data, the Vietnamese student sending market is:

• #1 for South Korea (+17% y-o-y to 2026)
• #1 for Taiwan (+33% y-o-y to 2026)
• #3 for China (+155% from 2018 to 2024)
• #3 for Japan (+7% y-o-y from May 2024 to May 2025)
• #5 for the US (+16% y-o-y to 2024/25)

For US educators, Vietnam has become especially important. In the IIE’s Fall 2025 Snapshot, 55% of US institutions identified Vietnam as a target undergraduate market – higher than the proportion who cited India.

The number of Vietnamese students is also on the rise in New Zealand (+11% in 2025 vs 2024) and Malaysia (+340% between 2022 and 2024).

Vietnam is #4 for Australia, but as of May 2026, enrolments were down -10% compared with May 2025.

Together, South Korea, Taiwan, and Japan host far more Vietnamese students than all the English-speaking destinations combined.

The draw of South Korea for degree studies

South Korea used to be mostly a language study destination for Vietnamese. Korean language studies remain popular, but the real growth story is at the university level. Korean Ministry of Education data shows that in April 2026, about 60% (58,000) of Vietnamese students were in degree programmes. This is up from 35% of the total in 2019.

Otherwise, 80% of Vietnamese students are degree-seeking both in Taiwan and the US, while about two-thirds are in Australia. The picture is more balanced in Japan, where language programmes remain the main draw.

Burgeoning interest in degree studies jibes with the Vietnamese government’s ambition to join the ranks of leading semiconductor economies, which would put it in the same company as Taiwan and South Korea. It is not coincidental that demand for those two destinations is so strong in Vietnam.

The TNE boom

What is astonishing about rising outbound mobility from Vietnam is that it coincides with Vietnamese students’ soaring participation in transnational education (TNE). At present, TNE activity does not seem to be cannibalising demand for study abroad (at least within Asia).

In 2025, there were 423 joint training programmes (JTPs) with foreign higher education partners across Vietnam. The chart below shows the distribution of main partner countries. About 80% of JTPs are at the undergraduate level.

UK and Australia hold the most share of TNE

The UK, through TNE agreements, now enrols far more Vietnamese offshore than in the UK. In 2023/24, HESA data shows that 12,620 Vietnamese students were enrolled in joint UK/Vietnam programmes – a +25% increase over the previous year. This rose to 13,285 in 2024/25 (+5%). In comparison, 2024/25 HESA data show under 4,000 Vietnamese enrolled in UK universities.

While Australia still enrols more than 30,000 Vietnamese students onshore, its TNE footprint is growing, but mostly as a result of one provider: RMIT University. Across various TNE arrangements, RMIT enrols more than 15,000 students in Vietnam.

Vietnam has a strong vision for more foreign partnerships. The British Council that two goals of Vietnam’s government are to have:

• 80% of universities involved in at least three foreign partnerships.
• At least a dozen higher education centres of excellence in the following fields: AI, semiconductors, edtech, biotech, and renewable energy. In all these fields, there are openings for public-private partnerships.

Local design

Vietnamese universities are ready to put their own stamp on TNE. Associate Professor Dr Le Trung Thanh, director of the International Training Institute at National Economics University, told the newspaper that her university will “allow students to do internships even if the TNE programme doesn't require it, or create opportunities for students to receive one-on-one mentoring from business leaders.” Ms Thanh is clearly aware that programmes integrating work experience are the new must-have competitive advantage – in Vietnam and everywhere else.

Asian ambition

Associate Professor Dr Nguyen Phu Khanh, vice general director of Phenikaa University and chairman of the UK–Vietnam EmpowerTNE Network, notes that though the UK is Vietnam's dominant TNE partner, “the goal is to expand to other countries in Southeast Asia … this is because Vietnam is aiming to become an educational hub in the region.”

South Korea is particularly keen to expand in Vietnam, though it doesn't yet have a branch campus. In March 2026, its Kyungpook National University (KNU) was the first Korean university ever to franchise programme curriculum abroad – to Vietnam’s FTP University. At KNU Vietnam in Hanoi, Vietnamese students complete all four years at home and emerge with a KNU degree.

Branch campuses

In 2024, the government ruled to allow foreign universities placing in a global top 500 ranking over the previous three years to establish a branch campus in Vietnam. RMIT (Australia) was the first to do so, with RMIT Saigon South licensed for operations in August 2026.

The international school sector

Vietnam’s rapidly growing middle class is fuelling demand for private education with a global orientation. The International School Database counts across eight cities in Vietnam, up from 77 in 2024 (see chart below). Close to half opened their doors in the past ten years. Most of these schools’ students are Vietnamese rather than the children of expatriates.

The race for a presence in Vietnam

Japan, South Korea, and Singapore – along with the UK, US, the Netherlands, and Australia – are the key foreign investors in Vietnamese education.

More generally, Asian countries lead the pack of foreign investors in all Vietnamese sectors. reports that:

“In the first four months of 2026, Singapore invested $6.05 billion, representing 49.8% of newly registered capital. South Korea followed with $4.08 billion, or 33.6%. China invested $524.1 million, Japan $462.0 million, Hong Kong $329.2 million and the Netherlands $318.5 million.”

There is no doubt that there is a race for foreign businesses across sectors to establish themselves in Vietnam. In August 2026, the Singapore-based ASEAN Plus Three Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) upgraded its forecast for Vietnam's real GDP growth for 2026 to +7.5%, up from its June estimate of +7.2%. This is the highest forecast for any ASEAN country. Indonesia is next with anticipated growth of 5.0%, followed by Malaysia at 4.9% and Singapore at 4.8%.

For additional background, please see:

• “Vietnam: Students encouraged to obtain advanced technology degrees abroad”
• “Market snapshot: A guide to international student recruitment in Vietnam”
• “Southeast Asian students increasingly considering ‘studying abroad’ closer to home”