Beijing Overseas Study Service Association conducted a survey of the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on overseas Chinese students. By the date of this report’s public release, over 240,000 people from over 160 countries have confirmed cases of infection. Chinese students, as the largest group of overseas Chinese, are directly impacted by the pandemic. This past week, a large number of countries took actions in containing pandemic; including sealing off borders, suspending classes and moving to online, and cancelling tests. These actions have caused students the anxiousness of anticipation. In the meantime, as the largest association in China international education industry, BOSSA received various inquiries from Chinese parents, educators, and agency members in regards to Chinese studentsoverseas.

Therefore, BOSSA collaborated with its agency members and officials to conduct a mass survey of Chinese students currently abroad in multiple countries.

Main Findings

1. 87.65% of the responding Chinese students overseas are concerned about infection by the COVID-19 virus. Among these students, 63% of them are worried about actions taken by their host countries; including, wearing face mask, lack of knowledge of local medical processes, and a lack of medical supplies and supplements.
2. 73% of responded Chinese students overseas are concerned about the impacts on their studies.
3. 86% of respondents stated their educator has suspended classes and/or switched to online classes. And 30.9% of respondents are concerned that suspended courses and tests might cause delayed graduation.
4. 94% of respondents are faced with a shortage of international transportation and expensive fares.
5. 63% of respondents reported a shortage of living and medical supplements.
6. 61.3% of respondents reported discrimination on Chinese students.

Survey Profile

The survey, conducted by BOSSA, represents the views of Chinese studentsoverseas. The survey received 8896 responses from 20 countries, including US (29.86%), UK (27.43%), France (9.44%), Canada (9.35%), Australia (8.09%), Germany (4.68%), Italy (4.59%), Spain (1.89%), South Korea (1.89%), Japan, (1.17%), and other countries (1.44%). 63.31% of respondents are female and 36.69% are male. 51.04% of respondents are enrolled in undergraduate courses, 36.72% of respondents take postgraduate courses, 10.08% of respondents are under 18 and 2.16% of respondents take other (non-academic) courses.

More info

You can access the full report here.