About 5 percent more international students; smallest increase in years

Just over 128,000 international students are enrolled at a university or university of applied sciences in the Netherlands. That is approximately 5 percent more than the previous academic year. It is the lowest increase in nine years, according to Nuffic, an organization involved in the internationalization of education.

The researchers believe that the low increase is partly because universities stopped recruiting international students at the end of 2022. Partly due to political pressure, universities are working to slow down internationalization due to concerns that it comes at the expense of Dutch students. Reports about the student housing shortage may also have had an influence.

The figures do not include students who are only doing part of their studies in the Netherlands or who came here for their internship.

Just over 20,000 international students started a bachelor’s program last summer, the same as in the previous academic year. For the first time since the 2006/07 academic year, this influx has not increased.

In total, one in six students at universities and universities of applied sciences come from abroad. Almost three-quarters of international students come from the European Union, Norway, Iceland, or Liechtenstein. Germany tops the list with over 21,000 students in the Netherlands, but this number declined for the second year in a row.

The number of new Chinese students increased by 23 percent. For China, this is the largest increase in almost 20 years, Nuffic reported. The organization thinks it is due to the end of the strict Chinese lockdown measures against the coronavirus. The number of students from Ukraine increased by over 18 percent. Last academic year, just after the Russian invasion, the number of Ukrainian students in the Netherlands doubled.

Economics and technology are the most popular courses among international students.