The UK issued more visas to foreign students than the United States last year, it was revealed on Thursday.
Britain handed out 457,673 sponsored study visas in 2023, compared to some 442,000 given to pupils from abroad by US authorities.
It meant the UK remained the number one country for international students out all 38 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member states.
Britain also welcomed 65,000 new refugees in 2023 - a 172% year-on-year increase and the sharpest rise in the OECD.
However, overall the UK was only the fourth top host country for new refugees, behind Germany which took 140,000, the United States (101,000) and Canada, (75,000).
Britain saw family migration soar with 373,000 people accompanying loved ones who had come to work or study from abroad in 2023 - a 60% increase compared to the previous year, the report found.
President elect Donald Trump has said that foreign students graduating from American colleges should get a green card to stay in the country - a proposal that appears runs counter to his hardline immigration stance.
In the run up to the election, Trump told the All-In podcast hosted by Silicon Valley tech investors: “You graduate from a college, I think you should get automatically as part of your diploma a green card to be able to stay in this country and that includes junior colleges too."
Meanwhile Britain has seen a significant drop in international students applying for visas his year after new migration rules were introduced under the previous Tory government.
Since January, they have been banned from bringing relatives to live with them in the UK, apart from some who are on research-based courses or government-backed scholarships.
Home Office figures showed 16% fewer study visa applications were made between July and September this year than in the same period in 2023.
The number of applications for family dependents of students dropped by 89%.
It prompted further concern about the financial health of UK universities, many of which depend on the significantly higher fees they can charge international students.
Education leaders had warned some institutions would face closure as a result of frozen tuition fees paid by domestic students - which are currently £9,250 per year - and a drop in the number of people coming to study from abroad.
Earlier this month Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson announced that university tuition fees in England will increase for the first time in eight years next Autumn.
Fees will rise in line with inflation to "secure the future of higher education", she said.
