Student numbers continue to decline
The number of students in Germany has fallen for the second year in a row. According to initial preliminary results from the Federal Statistical Office, a total of 2,871,500 students are enrolled at German universities in the current winter semester 2023/2024.
This is 1.7 percent fewer than in the previous winter semester and 2.5 percent fewer than one winter semester earlier. Previously, the number of students had risen steadily since the 2007/2008 winter semester, according to the office in Wiesbaden.
"The most recent decline varies in the individual types of higher education institutions," the statisticians reported. Fewer people were enrolled at universities, universities of applied sciences and administrative colleges. The number of students rose at art colleges alone.
More first semester students again
Even though the total number of students is declining, the number of first-semester students is rising. In the 2023 academic year (summer semester plus winter semester), 479,300 people enrolled at a German university for the first time. According to preliminary results, the number of first-semester students has thus increased by 1.2 percent. Prior to 2021, the number of first-semester students had been declining for four years.
According to the Federal Statistical Office, this was mainly due to the fact that the number of young people in the relevant age groups decreased. "The coronavirus pandemic exacerbated this trend, as the number of foreigners coming to Germany to study temporarily fell sharply."
Despite the general decline in student numbers, universities across Germany are still welcoming an increasing number of first-semester students. In the 2023 academic year, this figure reached 479,300, marking a 1.2% increase compared to the previous year.
This resurgence in first-year students at universities contrasts with the overall decrease in student enrollment at German universities, as mentioned earlier.
Source: www.dpa.com
