Nearly one in ten EU students comes from abroad

Around 1.8 million foreign students are currently studying in EU countries at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Within the EU, Luxembourg has by far the highest share of foreign students, at 52.3%, followed by Malta (29.6%) and Cyprus (22.3%). At the other end of the scale, Greece (3.0%), Croatia (3.7%) and Spain (4.3%) reported the lowest proportions.

While most foreign students in the EU typically come from other European countries, several notable exceptions stand out. Asian students form the largest foreign student group in Ireland (45.0%), Finland (43.35%), Germany (40.1%) and Italy (36%).

Germany is the top destination for Asian students within the EU, hosting 169,827 of them. However, the number of Asian students is even higher in Turkey, which hosts 213,922.

In contrast, African students represent the largest group of foreign tertiary students in France and Portugal. France hosts nearly 145,000 African students, accounting for 52.3% of all foreign tertiary students in the country, while Portugal counts 24,000, or 42.1%.

In Spain, the largest share of foreign students — 46.7% — comes from the Caribbean, Central and South America.

Across the remaining 20 EU member states, students from other European countries make up the largest group of foreign students. The highest shares were recorded in Slovakia (91.3%), Slovenia (89.4%) and Croatia (89.0%), underlining strong regional mobility within Europe.

Source: Euronews