Should you look at the GDP of a country to decide on your study abroad options?

Studying abroad is one of the most beneficial and rewarding experiences for an outbound student. They get to choose from a wide range of courses that provide them with the best of job opportunities. However, what they choose to study, in which university and in which country make all the difference. Choosing where to study abroad is probably the most important decision that students make in their lifetime.

When choosing a course in a foreign country, a student has two options: conventional courses or trending courses. Conventional programs are typically important contributors to a country’s GDP. Hence, the job prospects linked with those areas will also assist the student in establishing a rewarding career following graduation. Cyber security, robotics, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and other technological subjects are among the most popular trending courses. More employment opportunities around the world would be there due to a severe shortage of manpower in these fields.

Nonetheless, the employment rate in a country depends on several other factors, one of which is Gross Domestic Product (GDP). GDP measures the total monetary or market value of all finished goods and services produced within a country over a given period.

Let us now see how the GDP of a country is an important parameter in the study abroad option of a student and also in course selection. We will look at some countries which are favourite destinations for students to pursue an international degree.

United States

US is the world’s largest economy with a GDP of $24.796 trillion. 22.3% of it is contributed by finance, insurance & real estate, 12.8% by business services, 10.8% by manufacturing, and 8.6% by educational services. The US has the most technologically advanced and innovative economy in the world. Its businesses are at the forefront of technical developments, especially in artificial intelligence, computers, pharmaceuticals, medical, aerospace, and military technology. Pharmacology, business administration, psychology, data science, big data, artificial intelligence, business intelligence, cloud computing are some of the current hot pick courses in the USA. With a near-record 10.9 million job openings at the end of December 2021 in the US, there are abundant opportunities for foreign freshers.

United Kingdom

The current total GDP of the UK is $3.44 trillion. 72.8% of it is accounted by the service sector, 21% by manufacturing and construction, and agriculture add ups to 0.60%. In 2019, the UK was the fifth largest importer and exporter in the world. In terms of their relative importance to the GDP, the most relevant industries are textiles, chemical products, manufacturing, and construction. Conventional courses available in the UK can assist a student in obtaining employment in these industries.

Canada

Canada, with a well-developed diverse economy, has a nominal GDP of $1.64 trillion. In general, the Canadian economic system has a mix of governmental and private enterprises. Some of the major contributors to the economy are real estate, rental, and lease with a 13.01% share of GDP, while manufacturing has 10.37%, mining and oil has 8.21%, health care and social assistance has 6.63%, and finance and insurance has 7.07%. Finding out what courses are in demand in these fields will help you secure a job after your graduation.

Germany

Germany’s GDP is peaked at around $4.55 trillion and it is predicted to grow. 70.4% of the share in the country’s GDP is contributed by the service sector, 22.9% by production, and 6% by the construction industry. Automobile production is one of Germany’s most powerful industries. Yet doctors remain the most paid individuals followed by engineering, crafts, IT, corporate consultancy, marketing & PR, and finance. Attempting to enrol in these courses may assist in obtaining employment in Germany.

Australia

As of the year 2021, the country’s GDP was estimated at $1.98 trillion of which 13.2 % share is by health and education, 11.5% by mining, 8% by financing, and 7.4% by construction. The employment rate is rising in tandem with the steady expansion in GDP. Enterprise architecture managers, quantitative analysts, information security, software engineer, mining engineer, and medical practitioners are some of the employment sectors where manpower is in dire need. Taking up courses to match the skills required for these sectors will be beneficial.

France

The GDP of France was worth $2918.38 billion, accounting for 3.3% of global GDP where the service sector contributes 78.8%, the industry contributes 19.5%, and agriculture contributes 1.75%. The jobs in demand in France are in health and social care, wholesale and retail trade, and manufacturing. Construction, followed by the accommodation and food sector, and professional services are also some of the most in-demand jobs.

The GDP of a country is a good indicator of the economic growth of a country. While economic growth is beneficial to job creation, the growth must be in sectors with the capacity to absorb significant amounts of labour. The students who would like to go abroad for their education should be looking for a country whose GDP growth rate is high and the growth is derived by the growth in the traditional sectors. The outbound students should select courses in that country that will help them attain the skill specific to the growing sector.