For the first time in almost twenty years, the number of international students in Dutch higher education has dipped. New data from Nuffic shows a small decline in full‑degree students from abroad, ending a long period of steady growth. The shift is mainly due to fewer students coming from Germany and China. German enrolment has been sliding since 2022–2023, partly because of new training rules for psychotherapists. Chinese numbers are also down, which Nuffic links to the rising global reputation of universities in China itself.
Trends in Dutch cities
Amsterdam, long the country’s biggest magnet for foreign students, has seen its first drop in two decades. Even so, it remains the largest international student city, with close to 26,000 students from abroad. Maastricht follows, while Eindhoven stands out for moving up the list thanks to a noticeable increase in new international arrivals.
Despite the overall decline, the share of international students in Dutch higher education has actually inched upward. This is because the number of Dutch students has fallen more sharply. Germany remains the top country of origin, followed by Italy, Romania, Spain and Poland. China now sits in seventh place.
Programmes gaining momentum
One area that continues to buck the trend is technical studies. Universities report an 11 percent rise in international enrolment in technical programmes, making them the second most popular choice after economics. Universities of applied sciences are seeing similar momentum, with engineering programmes attracting more than 9,000 international students. Nuffic suggests that updated recruitment strategies may be contributing to this growth.
@anp | NEWSBRAINPORT
