The number of international students at colleges and universities in the United States increased by five percent to 723,277 during the 2010/11 academic year, said a report released on Monday.

"This represents a record high number of international students in the United States," said the?Open Doors report,?which is?jointly published by the Institute of International Education (IIE)? and the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs on an annual basis.

This is the fifth consecutive year that Open Doors figures show growth in the total number of international students, and there are now 32 percent more international students studying at U.S. colleges and universities than there were a decade ago.

The 2010/11 rate of growth is stronger than the three percent increase in total international enrollment reported the previous year, and the six percent increase in new international student enrollment this past year shows more robust new growth than the one percent increase the prior year.

The top three sending countries–China, India and South Korea–comprise 46 percent of the total international enrollments in U.S. higher education.

Increased numbers of students from China, particularly at the undergraduate level, largely accounts for the growth this past year. Chinese student enrollment in the United States rose to a total of nearly 158,000 students, or nearly 22 percent of the total international student population, making China the leading sending country for the second year in a row.

Canada, China's Taiwan, Saudi Arabia, and Japan each represent approximately three to four percent of the total international student population, with these top seven places of origin comprising about 60 percent of the total.

International enrollments at the undergraduate level reached 291,439, an increase of six percent. This increase brings the number of undergraduate international students much closer to the number of graduate level international students at 296,574.

These increases have been felt across the United States, with the top 20 host universities and top 10 host states each hosting more international students than in the prior year.?

These strong increases have significant economic impact on the United States, as international students contribute more than $21 billion to the U.S. economy, through their expenditures on tuition and living expenses, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Higher education is among the United States' top service sector exports, as international students provide significant revenue not just to the host campuses but also to local economies of the host states for living expenses, including room and board, books and supplies, transportation, health insurance, and support for accompanying family members.

The report showed?that 63 percent of all international students receive the majority of their funds from personal and family sources. When other sources of foreign funding are included almost 70 percent of all international students' primary funding, including tuition, comes from sources outside of the United States.?

California, New York, Texas, Massachusetts and Illinois remained as the top five hosts for international students, the report said.