The number of international students at Ukrainian universities amounted to over 61,000 this year, representing a 10-percent increase from 2012, Education Minister Dmytro Tabachnyk said here Tuesday. \"Over 61,000 foreign students from 152 countries are now studying in Ukraine. This fact confirms that our country is actively developing higher education,\" Tabachnyk told an international conference. Over a half of foreign students are from Asian and the ex-Soviet states, he said. The growth in international students going to Ukraine for higher education has contributed some 537.5 million dollars to the Ukrainian economy in 2012, Tabachnyk said. Universities in the eastern city of Kharkov, where over 20,000 foreigners have been enrolled this year, are the biggest destination for international students in the East European country, he said. Nearly 35,000 Ukrainian students are studying abroad, mainly in Russia, the United States and Poland.