Not Japan or Korea! 1 Country Loves to Study in Taiwan "Nearly 190,000 Students", Praised: Good International Reputation, Top Choice for Study and Work

Taiwan's higher education international recruitment strategy has seen a significant shift! During periods of tense cross-strait relations, China often used mainland students as a bargaining chip, forcing some schools to comply with related requirements. According to relevant statistics, the number of mainland students studying in Taiwan has dropped from a peak of over 9,000 per year to nearly breaking the 1,000 mark. However, with the effectiveness of the New Southbound Policy, Taiwan's high-quality learning environment has instead attracted a large number of Southeast Asian students, and recently, 65 Taiwanese universities and colleges formed a large-scale visit team to directly go to Indonesia to recruit top talent.

This event, guided by the Ministry of Education and co-organized by the Overseas Recruitment Committee and the Indonesia Taiwan Alumni Association, the "2026 Indonesia Taiwan Higher Education Expo" was grandly opened on August 1 in Jakarta, setting a record for the largest scale of overseas recruitment in 2026. Including 165 representatives from various schools, the large delegation toured Jakarta, Bandung, Surabaya, Denpasar, and Medan, five major cities from August 1 to 9, fully demonstrating the unique advantages of Taiwan's higher education.

Is the largest population country in Southeast Asia the main battlefield for recruitment? Why can the number of Indonesian students rank second in Taiwan?

Hong Zhenrong, the representative of the Indonesian representative office, pointed out at the opening ceremony of the education exhibition that the number of Indonesian students studying in Taiwan has already reached nearly 19,000, making Indonesia surpass many countries and become the second largest source of foreign students in Taiwan after Vietnam. The Ministry of Education also analyzed that Indonesia is not only the largest economy in Southeast Asia but also has the fourth largest population in the world, and the average age of the whole country is only about 30 years old, with a very high proportion of young population. This highly dynamic young population structure perfectly matches the international layout of Taiwan's higher education, naturally becoming the target market for overseas key development.

Statistical data shows that in the 2025 academic year alone, the number of Indonesian degree students studying in Taiwan reached 13,957, and non-degree students reached 4,783. These students who came from afar mainly chose to study in the three major popular fields of engineering and industry, business management, and information and communication, showing the strong attractiveness of Taiwan in science and technology and business management education.

Is the semiconductor industry chain a factor for studying abroad? Why can Taiwan's higher education attract overseas top talents?

When talking about the strength of Taiwan's higher education, Hong Zhenrong specially emphasized that Taiwan has a world-renowned and complete semiconductor industry supply chain, and this industrial advantage allows domestic universities to provide the most cutting-edge high-tech courses for foreign students. In addition to theoretical learning in the classroom, schools and enterprises also provide rich internship opportunities, and even extend to post-graduation employment channels, forming a one-stop career development path. This is very attractive to Indonesian young people who want to step into the international job market.

In addition, the overall quality of Taiwan's higher education has performed brilliantly in international rankings. According to the 2027 QS World University Rankings, Taiwan has 4 universities in the global top 200, 8 universities in the top 500, and a total of 27 universities on the world university rankings. The popularization of the all-English teaching environment, plus the free, diverse, and safe living experience of Taiwanese society, have all made Taiwan leap into the ideal study abroad destination in the minds of international students.