Global mobility streams
Worldwide, more than 7.3 million degree students studied abroad in 2023. The United States of America, the United Kingdom and Australia remain the most popular destinations among international degree students.
This dashboard presents data on the number of students who studied abroad for a full degree programme globally. The data is based on the UNESCO student mobility data.
Summary
- There were about 7.3 million international degree students studying abroad in 2023, up from 6.9 million in 2022.
- China is still the leading country of origin in 2023. After a decline of degree students from China in 2021, the number is rising again. International students of unspecified origin form the second largest group, followed by international students from India.
- Since 2013, the USA, the UK, Australia have been the top host countries for international degree students. Germany is the 4th largest host country in 2023, followed by Canada. All destination countries in the top 5 have seen growth in international student numbers relative to 2022.
Please note that data for Germany and South Africa are only available from 2013 onwards. There is no data available on incoming students for the Netherlands after 2021. In addition, the 2018 data for Belgium are incomplete.
For more specific information about internationally mobile degree students from the Netherlands, see Dutch degree students abroad.
For further information, please send an e-mail to analytics@nuffic.nl.