The number of German students studying abroad increased by 3% in 2021, with a total of 137,700 students enrolled in foreign universities. The increase is mainly due to more German students studying in the United States, Austria, and Portugal. The largest increases in German students were seen in Croatia, the United States, and Portugal. After a decline in 2020 due to the pandemic, the number of German students studying abroad has almost returned to pre-pandemic levels. The number of German students studying in China and some other countries has been decreasing since 2019, while in half of all countries, the numbers have either remained stable or increased.
Here are the five most popular destinations for German students studying abroad from this survey:
Rank |
Country | Number of German Students | Flag Emoji |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Austria | 36,100 | 🇦🇹 |
| 2 | Netherlands | 24,400 | 🇳🇱 |
| 3 | Switzerland | 12,400 | 🇨🇭 |
| 4 | United Kingdom | 11,100 | 🇬🇧 |
| 5 | United States | Increase of 3,200 | 🇺🇸 |
Destatis said:
- The United States saw an increase of 3,200 German students compared to the previous year.
- The United Kingdom dropped out of the top three for the first time since 2013, with a 12% decrease in German students.
- More than half (53%) of the German students studying abroad were in one of the top three destinations.
- Over two-thirds (68%) of these students were in the European Union.
- The most popular fields of study among these students were “Business, Administration, and Law” (27,700 students, 21%) and “Social Sciences, Journalism, and Information” (24,700 students, 19%).