Global mobility streams

Summary

• There were about 6.3 million international degree students studying abroad in 2021, down from 6.5 million in 2020. This is the first year-on-year decrease in global student mobility since 2000 and is likely due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
• Although still the leading country of origin in 2021, there were 7% fewer degree students from China compared to 2020, ending 20 years of consistent growth. 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 overtook Russian to become the 4th largest host country in 2021. The UK and Germany were the only countries in the top 5 to see growth in international student numbers relative to 2020. Likely as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the USA, Australia, and Russia all saw their international student populations shrink in 2021.
• The Netherlands is the 12th largest host country, receiving about 2% of all internationally mobile degree students worldwide.
• 18,459 Dutch degree students studied abroad in 2021, 5% fewer than in 2020.

Please note that data for Germany and South Africa are only available from 2013 onwards. 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 email to analytics@nuffic.nl.