The line graph compares the number of students from China, Brazil and Japan who enrolled at Northbridge University between 2015 and 2020.

Overall, enrolment from all three countries increased over the period, although there were some minor fluctuations. China remained by far the largest source of students throughout, while Japan consistently recorded the lowest numbers. Another notable feature is that the gap between China and the other two countries widened considerably by the end of the period.

In 2015, around 800 Chinese students were enrolled at the university, compared with only 300 from Brazil and 150 from Japan. Over the following three years, all three figures generally followed an upward trend. Chinese enrolment rose steadily to approximately 1,100 in 2017 before increasing sharply to 1,400 in 2018. Similarly, the number of Brazilian students increased overall, despite a slight dip from 400 to around 375 in 2017, and reached approximately 450 the following year. Japan also saw steady growth, with its figure doubling from 150 to 300 over the same period.

From 2018 onwards, however, the three countries followed slightly different patterns. Chinese enrolment fell marginally to around 1,350 in 2019 before recovering strongly to reach a peak of 1,600 in 2020. By contrast, the number of Brazilian students continued to climb, rising from 450 to 550 and then to 700. Japan experienced another small decline in 2019, when its figure dropped to approximately 275, but this was followed by a modest recovery to 350 in the final year.

Useful vocabulary & definitions

• increase over the period — become higher between the beginning and end of the period
• remain by far the largest — continue to be much higher than the other figures
• widen considerably — become much larger in terms of difference
• follow an upward trend — generally increase over time
• rise steadily — increase gradually and consistently
• increase sharply — rise quickly by a noticeable amount
• a slight dip — a small, usually temporary decrease
• see steady growth — experience a gradual and consistent increase
• follow different patterns — change in different ways
• fall marginally — decrease by a very small amount
• recover strongly — rise noticeably after a decline
• continue to climb — keep increasing
• a modest recovery — a relatively small increase following a decline