Degree-related and temporary study-related international mobility of German and domestic students in Germany since 1991

In 2022, the Federal Statistical Office recorded around 138,800 German students abroad, meaning that this figure has fallen by a good 2 percent since 2016 (around 141,200). However, the number of German students studying abroad has quadrupled since 1991 and more than doubled since 2000. These students are predominantly, but not exclusively, students who are aiming to obtain a degree abroad.
Looking at the development of the numbers of German students studying abroad, it becomes clear that between 2002 and 2010, i.e. during the introduction of the new, tiered study system, above-average growth rates of 10 percent and more per year were achieved. During this period, the proportion of students studying abroad rose from 3.3 percent to 5.6 percent of all German students. This suggests that many students took advantage of the option offered by the new degree system to continue their studies abroad at master’s level after completing a bachelor’s degree in Germany. However, since the introduction of the new degree types was completed, the absolute number of German students studying abroad has not increased further. Their share of all German students has even fallen slightly to 5.2 percent in 2022, partly due to the continuing increase in the number of students in Germany until 2015.
A similar trend was also evident in the number of temporary study-related stays abroad by domestic students in Germany. Between 1991 and 2000, the proportion of students in higher semesters with temporary stays abroad rose sharply (from 20 percent to 32 percent) and then stabilised at this level until 2006. Since then, however, a continuous decline has been observed, to 19 percent in the most recent survey in 2021. Unlike degree-related mobility abroad, the introduction of the two-tier study system with Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes was not associated with an increase in temporary study-related mobility abroad. Instead, there was even a decline in temporary mobility abroad during this period, which continued even after the introduction of the Bachelor’s/Master’s system.