350,000 Int’l Students at German Universities and Colleges in Winter 2021/22
According to DAAD, the number has increased by 8 per cent compared to the previous year, putting Germany in the top four, just behind the US, the UK and Australia, AtoZSerwisPlus.de reports.
The top country of origin for international students in Germany last year was China, with 40,000 students, followed by India (34,000), Syria (16,500), Austria (14,500) and Turkey, which has sent a total of 12,500 students.
Commenting on the results, Federal Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger said that German universities and research institutions have an excellent reputation among students worldwide.
“International students represent an enormous potential of skilled workers, which we should exploit even better in the future. It also shows that Germany has come through the Corona period comparatively well in terms of the number of international students,” Stark-Watzinger said.
Moreover, data show that the number of Indian students in Germany has increased by 18 per cent over a year, and the number of Indian students in their first year of studies rose by 33 per cent. Differently, the number of Chinese students has stagnated.
Based on these data, DAAD’s report states that India could soon replace China in the number of international students in Germany.
DAAD President Professor Joybrato Mukherjee said that Germany has managed to maintain its reputation among students worldwide over the past years and is now enjoying the success of its continual efforts in this regard.
“This also represents a huge opportunity for discussion regarding our domestic shortage of skilled labour, and all those concerned should unite in exploiting this opportunity,” Mukherjee stressed.
At the same time, the Scientific Director of the DZHW, Monika Jungbauer-Gans, added that the number of international students in Germany has increased by 89 per cent since the winter term 2010/11, with the majority of them interested in engineering, mathematics and natural sciences. She said that 53 per cent of international students chose one of these study programs.
The last survey findings showed that 70 per cent of international students enrolled at universities, whereas 30 per cent at universities of applied sciences (UAS).
Although Germany attracts a high number of international students every year, many German students head to other countries to study. In 2019, about 138,000 German students went abroad to study. The countries hosting most German students are Austria, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Switzerland.
