The new students who arrived in Portugal with international student status went mainly to universities, but 44 percent of the total - 2,398 students - went to polytechnic education.
Of those who went to universities, 595 went to Porto, which had the most new international students enrolled.
A total of 2,838 students came from Brazil, 926 from Cape Verde, 708 from Guinea-Bissau, 521 from Angola and 111 from São Tomé and Príncipe.
In 20 years, the percentage of foreign students at Portuguese universities and polytechnics has increased fivefold.