International students are increasingly finding their way into Dutch colleges and universities. But less than a quarter of British students are enrolling this school year.

He Nuffic charted international student entry for this academic year based on figures from DUO. It confirmed beforehand count from university and CBS once again: Dutch higher education is very popular with foreign students.

The number of international students increased 12 percent this school year. Around 115,000 international students apply for complete studies in Dutch higher education. The majority (72 percent) are from Europe.

new top 3
As in previous years, Dutch higher education is most popular among German students. Italy is again number two on the list of countries of origin and Romania has just entered the top three this school year. Followed by China and Belgium.

The largest percentage growth was seen in Poland, Spain, Romania, France and Greece. The number of European students increased by 14 percent, while the number of international students from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) only increased by 7.6 percent.

Brexit
Since Brexit, students from the UK have chosen less and less to study in the Netherlands. Their numbers are down 24.3 percent this school year, the biggest drop in the top 100 home countries.

This is most likely to do with Brexit in 2020. This is the first academic year the whole UK is no longer part of the EEA, which means that they have to pay high institutional tuition fees. This is often thousands of euros more expensive than ‘normal’ tuition.

economic studies
In higher professional education, courses in economics attract the most foreign students. Language and culture has the highest international share with 35.6 percent. At university, the program is tense Liberal Arts and Sciences krone with 46.3 percent.

art course
In absolute numbers, the University of Amsterdam attracts the most international students. Fontys is the only university of applied sciences in the top 10.

The highest share of international students at Maastricht University: more than half of the student population (56.3 percent). International is also part of the Dutch art course again relatively well represented.