A 2005 Forbes magazine cover story painted a dire picture of the position of the US when it comes to engineering talent.

The story said that the US was only going to graduate some 70,000 engineers that year, versus some 600,000 in China and 350,000 in India. The story caused much hang-wringing in US circles as further evidence of American economic decline.

But the data may have been flawed.

Writing in the Spring edition of Wilson Quarterly, Jay Mathews, education editor for the Washington Post, questions the accuracy of the Forbes numbers. He believes the data on China came from a publication of the Chinese government. A subsequent study by the McKinsey Institute found that half of these “engineers” would only be considered “technicians” in the US and Europe.

No one seems to be quite sure what the source was for the 350,000 engineering graduates in India, and Mathews says the real total is unlikely anywhere near that number.

In a 2005 report, Duke University found the following total of engineers graduating with at least an undergraduate degree:

• US: 137,437
• China: 351,537
• India: 112,000

The US still solidly retains the lead in engineering graduates per capita, according to Mathews.