With a whopping 29.4 per cent increase, a record high of 132,888 Indian students studying in the US in 2014–15 academic year contributed $3.6 billion to the US economy, according to a new report.

India was the second leading place of origin for students coming to the US, making up 13.6 per cent of the total international students in the country, according to the 2015 Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange.

International students' spending in all 50 states contributed more than $30 billion to the US economy in 2014 with students from India contributing $3.6 billion, the report said citing the US Department of Commerce.

China remains the top sending country, with almost twice the number of students in the US as India, but India's rate of growth and absolute increases outpaced China's 11 per cent.

It was also the second year of rising numbers for India, following three years of declines.

India's 29.4 per cent growth is the highest rate of growth for Indian students in the history of the Open Doors project, which spans back to 1954–55.

India, China and Brazil accounted for most of the growth in international students on US campuses as their numbers grew at the highest rate in 35 years.

The majority of Indian students in the US study at the graduate level, according to the report.

Students from the top three countries of origin—China, India and South Korea—now represent approximately 51 per cent of the total enrolment of international students in the US, with the number from China and India increasing, and the numbers from South Korea declining by six per cent.