Of the 71 agencies polled by the association, a staggering 90% said Canada was first choice for students using their services to find courses abroad. The USA was the second most requested destination, in about 70% of responses, and the UK third in about 60% of cases. Cost of education, ease of obtaining a visa, safety, quality of education and hospitality were said to be the main reasons behind Canada’s appeal.

That Canada may be outshining the UK and US in Brazilian eyes speaks volumes about the internationalisation policies of each country over the last two years. While Canada has actively sought to increase numbers with major marketing initiatives in Ottawa and British Columbia, the UK and US have increased tuition fees and perpetuated visa conditions perceived to be restrictive.

Digging deeper into the data, Canada was first choice for Brazilian students seeking English language courses at 60% of agencies, followed by the United States at 21.1% and the United Kingdom at 15.5%.

The survey, which was sponsored by ICEF and the British Council, uncovered other interesting information about international education in Brazil, which has been subject to a relatively small amount of research in the past.

It found that an estimated 167,432 Brazilian students travelled abroad in 2010 – more than in any of the previous five years – generating revenues above US$1 billion. Student numbers were predicted to rise to 215,000 in 2011 and 282,000 in 2012, with sales increasing 40% over the next three years.

Student numbers were predicted to rise with sales increasing 40% over three years

Social mobility is also improving across the nation. The rising middle class – described as class C in Brazil – were said to be more active consumers in 2010 than ever before, and 10% of agencies reported that this group had accounted for 50 per cent of their turnover.

Meanwhile, language courses were found to be the most popular study abroad products, equating to 60% of agent sales. Programmes for high school abroad ranked second at 22.5% and summer courses third at 11%.