fbpx
Market intelligence for international student recruitment from ICEF
8th Jul 2019

Germany’s foreign enrolment grew again in 2018

An annual trends report from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) shows that the number of international students in Germany has climbed once again, with 374,580 foreign students enrolled in German universities in 2018, up from 358,900 in 2017. This represents 4.4% growth, slightly less than the 5.5% growth the previous year. All of Germany’s top 10 sending markets grew in 2018 with the exception of Russia and France, which sent slightly fewer students. Syria made into the top 10 for the first time in 2018, while Ukraine dropped out.

Bildungsauslaender student numbers grow by 10%

DAAD differentiates between international students who have obtained their higher education entrance qualifications outside Germany (Bildungsauslaender) and those who obtained them within Germany (Bildungsinlaender). Bildungsauslaender thus more directly correlate with current demand trends for German higher education in other countries. Their numbers have been growing much more quickly than Bildungsinlaender since about 2013, and this trend continued in 2018. foreign-enrolment-in-germany-bildungsauslaender-and-bildungsinlaender-2009-2018 Foreign enrolment in Germany, Bildungsauslaender and Bildungsinlaender, 2009 – 2018. Source: DAAD As the chart reflects, there were 282,000 Bildungsauslaender in Germany in 2018, up from 256,485 in 2017, marking 10% growth. By contrast, the number of Bildungsinlaender dropped slightly from 93,410 in 2017 to 92,580 in 2018. International students now compose 13.2% of all university students in Germany, up from 12.8% in 2017.

Syria sends 69% more students and makes it into top 10 sending markets

Chinese students compose 13% of international students in German universities and there were 36,915 of them in 2018, up 5.5% over 2017. The Indian market – which contributes 6% of the international student population – grew by an impressive 13% from 2017 to 2018 to 17,295 students. Rounding out Germany’s top 10 sending markets are Austria (11,130, up 5.5%), Russia (10,975, down 3%), Italy (8,910, up 4%), Syria (8,620, up 69%), Turkey (7,635, up 9.7%), Iran (7,530, up 6%), Cameroon (7,345, up 1%), and France (7,200, down 1.2%). bildungsauslaender-in-germany-by-region-of-origin-2018 Bildungsauslaender in Germany by region of origin, 2018. Source: DAAD As many Bildungsauslaender are in bachelor’s programmes as master’s programmes (37% each). Another 9.3% are in PhD programmes, 7.3% are pursuing other degrees, and 9.4% are in non-degree courses. The two most popular fields of study are engineering (38%) and law, economics, and social sciences (25.7%).

Germany remains one of the most popular study destinations

Germany remains one of the world’s most popular study destinations, in the company of the US, the UK, Australia, Canada, and China, and its recent 4.4% growth of international students in its universities keeps it very competitive. However, as we have noted often, the competition is vigorous right now for international students and multiple countries have achieved impressive recent growth. For example:

  • 1,094,790 foreign students were enrolled in US higher education institutions in 2018, 1.5% more than in 2017
  • Canada reported 16.3% growth in 2019, reaching 572,415 international students in its higher education institutions;
  • Australia’s higher education providers hosted 350,470 foreign students in 2017, and in early-2018 had registered 12.8% growth compared with early-2017;
  • 458,490 international students were enrolled in UK universities in 2018, representing growth of 4% over the previous year;
  • China enrolled 492,186 international students in 2018 (not all in universities), up 1% over 2017.

For additional background please see:

Most Recent

  • How is Indian student mobility changing in 2023? Read More
  • Move Over Google: Social media is also a search engine Read More
  • Why managing digital shock needs to be part of your student support plan Read More

Most Popular

  • Canada’s foreign enrolment grew by more than 30% in 2022 Read More
  • Measuring cost of study and cost of living across study destinations Read More
  • Recruiting in the Emirates: Big goals, world-class education, and new scholarships Read More

Because you found this article interesting

How is Indian student mobility changing in 2023? The shape of outbound mobility from India has changed over the course of 2023, with the UK and...
Read more
International enrolment in Canadian K-12 recovered to more than 80% of pre-pandemic levels in 2022/23 Canada’s K-12 public schools enrolled just over 33,000 foreign students in 2022/23. That total includes nearly 29,000 in...
Read more
Impact of UK’s dependant visa policy shows as nearly half of business schools miss targets In what appears to be an early signal of the impact of an important change to UK visa...
Read more
US: New coalition pushes for coordinated national strategy for international education Of the leading destinations for study abroad, only the US does not have an official international education strategy....
Read more
US international enrolment passed pre-pandemic levels for “near record high” in 2022/23 The number of international students in US higher education in 2022/23 exceeded 1 million and increased year-over-year by...
Read more
Spending by Indian outbound students could reach US$70 billion by 2025 Direct spending on study abroad by Indian students has been pegged at US$47 billion for 2022. That figure...
Read more
UK to ease travel requirements for school groups from France The Financial Times reported last week that, “The UK government is to sharply reduce post-Brexit border bureaucracy for...
Read more
Irish government launches quality assurance scheme for ELT and higher education sectors The Irish government has announced that it is moving forward at long last with new regulations for the...
Read more
What are you looking for?
Quick Links