For the first time since 2007/2008, the Federal Statistical Office has recorded a decline in two consecutive years. But there is something positive to report among the freshmen.
The number of students in Germany has declined 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.
That is 1.7 percent less than in the previous winter semester and 2.5 percent less than a winter semester earlier. The number of students had previously increased steadily since the winter semester of 2007/2008, as the office in Wiesbaden announced.
“The recent decline varies in magnitude across different types of universities,” the statisticians reported. Fewer people were enrolled at universities, technical colleges and administrative colleges. The number of students increased at art colleges alone.
More freshmen again
Even if the total number of students is declining, the number of first-semester students is increasing. In the 2023 academic year (summer semester plus winter semester), 479,300 people began studying at a German university for the first time. According to preliminary results, the number of first-year students has increased by 1.2 percent. Before 2021, the number of first-year students had been declining for four years.
According to the Federal Statistical Office, this was primarily due to the fact that the number of young people in the relevant age groups was decreasing. “The corona pandemic further intensified this development, as it temporarily caused a sharp decline in the number of foreigners coming to Germany to study.”
