In Fall 2019, 5,660 international students enrolled at MSU, with the top five countries outside North America being China (2,965), India (506), South Korea (331), Saudi Arabia (222) and Taiwan (144). According to a Brookings Institution report analyzing foreign student visa approvals from 2008 to 2012, MSU once enrolled the highest number of Chinese international students in the United States, with roughly 4,700 Chinese citizens enrolled during the period of the study. MSU has since seen decreased Chinese enrollment and has lost its status as the top destination of Chinese students, which former Michigan Department of Education head Tom Watkins attributed to a ramp-up in anti-China rhetoric by U.S. President Donald Trump and changes in Chinese domestic conditions.