Germany Is Now World’s 3rd Most Popular Study Destination With Over 367k International Students
Germany recently overtook Australia in the list of the most popular study destinations and now ranks third worldwide. It currently secures the first spot among the non-English speaking countries.
The 2022/2023 winter semester witnessed a significant surge in international student enrollment at German universities, with a total of 367,578 students — a notable five per cent increase from the previous year, according to the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the German Centre for Higher Education Research and Science Studies (DZHW).
“That is very good news for Germany as a country of academia and science, especially in view of the skilled workers shortage,” said Germany’s Education Minister, Bettina Stark-Watzinger.
Data show that China held the top spot in sending the highest number of international students to German universities, with a total enrollment of 40,012 students in the year 2022.
In a noteworthy shift, India became the top country sending first-semester students to Germany, surpassing China with approximately 42,600 students in 2023. There has also been a big increase in the number of Ukrainian students in Germany, with a total of 9,100.
“German universities are very attractive to international students and doctoral candidates. This helps us deal with the shortage of skilled professionals,” said the president of DAAD, Professor Dr. Joybrato Mukherjee.
Some of the leading universities that draw in international students include Technische Universität München, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, and Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg, as mentioned in the Study in Germany source.
However, research institutions are also witnessing a growing presence of foreign students.
“It is no coincidence that 29 per cent, i.e. nearly a third, of the scientific personnel at the institutes run by the leading research associations such as the Max Planck Society and the Leibniz Association now come from abroad,” points out Professor Monika Jungbauer-Gans from the DZHW.
She further mentioned that 14 per cent of scientific staff at universities come from foreign countries.
Even after completing their studies, Germany remains an attractive destination for international students, with 45 per cent of international students choosing it to call home. This rate is matched only by Canada in comparisons within the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).