The international student exchange network: 1970 & 1989

Using data published in UNESCOStatistical Yearbooks (1972 & 1991) on the 50 countries with the largest number of exchange students, this article describes the international student exchange network and its changes between 1970 and 1989. The results indicate that the network changed significantly over this 20-year period. While the United States and some Western developed countries have remained at the center of the network, Asian and Middle Eastern countries have become more central and African countries have become more peripheral. The role of colonial and linguistic factors has become less important, while economic development has a more important role in international student exchanges. The international student exchange network suggests an academic hegemony consistent with that of economics and politics. The changes of the network reflect the hierarchical structure of the hegemonic powers in the modern world system.