Germany Has The Fourth Highest Number Of International Students
According to Wissenschaft Weltoffen 2020, published by the German Academic Exchange Service DAAD and the German Center for Research and Scientific Studies in Higher Education, the number of students from MENA countries increased by 68% during the past 3-year to 2019.
The most students numbers come from Asia-Pacific around 30%, followed by students from Western Europe 18.4%, North Africa and the Middle East 17.7%. The countries which are the highest source of international students are China and India, accounting for around 13% and 7%, respectively.
The students study in various regions, and half of all international students study in just three federal states: North Rhine-Westphalia, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. A high number of students choose to study in Berlin (17%), Saxony (15%), Thuringia (14%) and Brandenburg (14%).
As far as the level of studies is concerned, the interest in masters increased by 72% in five years, interest in undergraduate studies increased by 50% and 12% increase in doctorate studies.
This data reflects how the trend has been for international students and is continuing. However, the estimated development can be affected by the current situation with the pandemic. Germany continues to be relatively optimistic in its ability to remain an attractive destination.
The survey shows that the status of Germany among international students has apparently been improved thanks to good handling of the pandemic during the first corona wave in spring and summer. According to Sazana Jayadeva, a researcher at the UCL Institute of Education, the Indian student flow to Germany will be less affected than those to the US and UK in terms of postponement and reconsideration of study plans. The pandemic was handled well in Germany; the healthcare system was robust and international students were well supported. This can be an advantage to attract the future and potential students to enter the German education system and thus connect themselves to the country.
At the same time, the Covid -19 caused around 80,000 students to leave temporarily, and some students have been having difficulties in being able to return to the country.
The DAAD spokesperson Michael Andreas Flacke ensures that the international students are allowed and welcomed to Germany. Still, there are obstacles in some countries due to visas and consulates being closed. The overall picture for German universities is divided to a better one of larger universities with a good number arrivals of the international students and to a more worrying one of smaller universities where they record the lack of students.
One of the countries where the number of students has risen significantly is Syria. The majority of 13,000 Syrians who studied in Germany in 2019 are refugees. They represented 4% of international students.
The refugee status is not registered when entering German universities so following figures might not be exact, but between 2016 and 2019, around 30,000 refugees attended specialized language courses and vocational courses to prepare for future studies.
DAAD run educational programmes that give an opportunity to thousands of refugees start studying at German universities. Based on their data, it is believed that around 22,000 refugee students were studying for a degree in Germany in 2019.
As for the outgoing – German students choosing to study abroad, one in five decided for Austria as a place of study, 16% choice was the Netherlands taking, 11% the UK and 10% Switzerland.
The current concern that could lead to a future drop in the application in studying in the UK is Brexit. This is a trend that would be seen across Europe as EU students will no longer be eligible for financial grant and support that the British home students benefit from. It could lead to a considerable drop in EU students choosing the UK and looking at alternative countries to study.
