Studying in Germany: Fewer foreign first-year students at universities

Studying in Germany: Fewer foreign first-year students at universities

Germany is one of the world’s most popular locations for studying. But last year, the corona pandemic left the first-year students at home.

According to the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the number of foreign first-year students in Germany fell significantly in the Corona year 2020.

64,000 freshmen began studying in Germany in the 2020/2021 winter semester. That was 15,000 fewer than in the previous year, according to the report “Wissenschaft weltoffen 2021” published by the DAAD and the German Center for University and Science Research. Almost a quarter of the new students from abroad started their studies in Germany online, so they stayed at home. In the previous year it was only 14 percent. The DAAD is now expecting the numbers to stabilize again.

Regardless of the corona break-in, Germany continues to be one of the world’s most popular locations for studying, according to the report. In the 2020/2021 winter semester, a total of around 325,000 students from other countries were enrolled at German universities. This makes the Federal Republic the most attractive country behind the USA, Australia and Great Britain. As in previous years, most of the foreign students came from China (41,000). It is followed by India (25,000), Syria (15,000), Austria (12,000) and Russia (10,500).

“The current figures show that international students have placed their trust in Germany as a study location even during the corona pandemic. In addition to the great commitment of our member universities, this is also due to the fact that the universities intensively promoted digitization in the past year, »said DAAD President Joybrato Mukherjee. Financial reasons are also likely to play a role: In comparison to Anglo-Saxon countries, studying in Germany is largely free and the cost of living in Germany is comparatively low.

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