The number of foreigners coming to the Netherlands to study is stagnating. This academic year, almost 52,000 people from other countries have newly enrolled in a study program in the Netherlands. That is only 0.4 percent more than the previous academic year.
“The smallest increase since 2007/2008,” notes Nuffic to press agency ANP. Nuffic is an organization that is committed to internationalization in higher education.
The total number of foreign students is also barely increasing anymore. This academic year, more than 131,000 international students are enrolled in the Netherlands. That is 3 percent more than a year earlier, according to Nuffic the smallest growth percentage in ten years.
The number of new enrollments is already decreasing in the bachelor’s programs. Universities of applied sciences saw 7 percent fewer foreign students register for that phase of the study. At universities, it was a decrease of 5 percent.
The number of foreign students registering for a master’s program is still increasing, but this may also decrease in the long term. “A decrease in new international bachelor students could eventually lead to a decrease in master’s programs,” says Nuffic.
Technical Studies Do Attract Many More Foreigners
The number of foreign students in university engineering studies is still increasing. In Eindhoven and Delft, the number of registrations grew by more than 20 percent. According to Nuffic, that could be good for the Dutch economy, because companies in the technology sector are struggling with a shortage of personnel.
Germany is and remains by far the most important country of origin for foreign students. But their number has fallen there for the first time since 2008 to below 20,000. Then follow Italy (more than 8,600), Romania (almost 8,000), Spain (more than 6,500) and China (more than 6,100).