The number of international students in Germany continues to rise. In the winter semester 2023/24, some 379,900 international students were enrolled at German universities, an increase of 3% compared to the previous year, according to newly published data from DAAD.
The rise in first-year international students is particularly significant, with nearly 114,700 beginning their studies in Germany in the 2022 academic year – another record for the country.
Since 2010, Germany has experienced steady growth in the number of incoming international students. The PIE News spoke with Kai Sicks, secretary general of DAAD, who noted that this increase has been gradual, with an annual growth rate of approximately 4-6%, following a linear rather than exponential trend.
The increase in English-taught programs has been an important aspect of this growth, particularly at master’s and PhD level, while undergraduate programs in English are less common in Germany.
“The number of international students at German universities has risen for fifteen years in a row, even during the coronavirus pandemic,” said Prof Dr Monika Jungbauer-Gans, scientific director of the German Centre for Higher Education Research and Science Studies, DZHW.
“This is a clear sign of the attractiveness of German universities and their study program, especially the English-language master’s program. To further increase student numbers, it will be important not to let up in our efforts to improve their academic success in both bachelor’s and master’s programs.”
Currently, around 10% of academic programs in Germany are offered completely in English, allowing Germany to avoid the backlash seen in countries like the Netherlands, where concerns over the rise in English-taught courses have led to government restrictions.
According to Sicks, it’s important that DAAD advocates for such English-taught programs, but equally for German language acquisition, to the benefit of the student’s immersion.
“If you ask how successful an international student is in Germany, we very often get the answer that it depends on how well the student is integrated into the university and into society,” Sicks told The PIE.
A key aspect of this integration is whether students can communicate in German, whether it’s simply ordering at a bakery or building friendships with locals, he explained.
“Our strategic approach as DAAD is we lobby for both – install and inaugurate more English language programs, particularly programs that also start in English, but also offer the options for learning German at the same time.”
The increase in English-taught programs has become a significant draw for international students, complemented by the welcoming culture of German universities and broader society’s openness to integrating international students, said Sicks.
“There is also the need to attract international students in order to make partners with people from other countries and even if they go back, they will stay partners to Germany, in academia or in any field in which they continue to work,” he continued.
Alongside the goal of enriching universities and society by embracing diversity, there is now a renewed emphasis on welcoming international students to help address the skilled labour shortage in Germany’s workforce.
“International students are the optimal candidates here because they come to Germany, are educated here and get to know the country, the language and know what to expect when they stay in Germany,” said Sicks.
“These different motives have built on each other over the past 15 years and that’s the reason for why we’ve been quite successful in attracting more international students.”
International students make up almost 13% of the total student body in Germany.
The most significant countries of origin for international students to Germany are India with around 49,000 students and China with around 38,700 students.
Germany is seeing an increasing in the number of students from Turkey, which is now in third place for the first time with around 18,100 students, followed by Austria (15,400) and Iran (15,200). Syria, which has been one of the top five countries of origin since 2019, is now in sixth place (13,400).
The latest data showed that most international students were enrolled at universities in North Rhine-Westphalia, specifically 78,500, followed by Bavaria (61,400) and Berlin (40,800).
The data comes from from a newly published report from DAAD and DZHW, which also outlined Germany’s positioning as a host country for international academics and researchers.
With over 75,000 foreign researchers at universities and public research institutions, Germany overtook the UK in 2021 and further strengthened its position as an attractive science location. Only the US, with 86,000 international researchers, is ahead of Germany in terms of attracting international academics and researchers.
Almost 80% of international researchers in Germany work at universities including around 4,000 professors – and around 20% at non-university research institutions. Most international researchers came from India (6,700), China (5,900) and Italy (5,800).
The rising number of international students is also an extremely positive development for our country, which urgently needs more skilled labour.
Joybrato Mukherjee, DAAD
DAAD President Prof. Dr Joybrato Mukherjee commented: “The latest figures show that Germany is the most important European destination for international academics and researchers, even ahead of the UK.
“The rising number of international students is also an extremely positive development for our country, which urgently needs more skilled labour. These trends underline Germany’s attractiveness as a location for science and study, which is based in particular on the high quality of German universities and research institutions and their international integration.”