Downward Trend: German Universities Report 1.7% Decrease in Student Enrollment for Second Consecutive Year

According to recent data presented by Destatis, the German Federal Statistical Office, student enrollment in popular German universities has witnessed a plunge. Based on a report presented by Study in Germany, this drop is seen for the 2nd year in a row, which is very concerning. 

Based on the statistical data gathered so far, the university enrollment for German colleges has been less by 1.7% compared to the previous year. In the year 2023-24, 2,871,500 students enrolled in the German universities. 2,920,300 students enrolled in Germany universities during the year 2022-23. Based on a report shared by Studying-in-Germany.org reflected a significant drop of 2.5 per cent when compared to the winter semester of 2021-22.  

According to Destatis, this cannot just be the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic. The university enrollment for germany universities has witnessed a continuous drop even for four consecutive years. Even if there is a drop in university enrollment in German universities, what is observed is there is still a rise in the number of international students landing in Germany for their first-year studies. 

This drop can also be attributed to the type of universities that the student has enrolled in. Destatis emphasized that there is a 0.5 per cent drop in the enrolment of students in universities of applied sciences. Around 57,800 students were observed to be enrolling in administrative colleges in the winter of 2023. Although when it comes to the art colleges in Germany, there was a slight increase of 1.9% in the number of students enrolling. 

Based on the 2023 statistics analysing the number of international students in German universities, the country welcomed around 400,000 international students willing to pursue higher education. In total, 458,210 international students opted for Germany to pursue their higher education.

“In the 2023 academic year (summer semester 2023 and winter semester 2023/24), 479,300 people began studying at a German university for the first time, which was 5,600 more than in the 2022 academic year (473,700) and 6,900 more than in the 2021 academic year (472,400),” the report by Destatis states.

Through the various reports, one of the most important aspects that comes into the picture is that even if the overall university enrollment has dropped, the number of international students in Germany is on a continuous rise. Based on the previous decade’s statistics, the number of international students in German universities has increased by 52 per cent. According to diverse surveys, some of the top reasons for international students choosing Germany include the low tuition fees at German universities, top-quality education and infrastructure, English-language-based programs, and Germany is an attractive country.