More students from Germany are going abroad to study than other Western European countries, according to a new survey. 

The survey from the German Academic Exchange Service, DAAD, and the statistics agency HIS also found that the number of international students in Germany is set to increase. 

The study shows that more than 100,000 Germans were studying abroad in 2008, most of which had not been studying in Germany before. 

Around 2,500 to 3,500 German bachelors of the 2009 graduate class went on to study abroad, representing around 5% at universities and 3% at fachhochschulen, or universities of applied science. If this level is maintained, with student numbers on the increase, around 11,000 bachelor degree graduates could be opting for a stay abroad to obtain a masters in two to three years' time. 

Ulrich Heublein of the HIS-Institut für Hochschulforschung said that higher education institutions in the United Kingdom in particular, but also in Austria, France, the Netherlands and Switzerland, are popular with German masters students. 

In the 2010 academic year, 181,000 international students enrolled at higher education institutions in Germany. Nearly one in 10 students in Germany is a foreign citizen and obtained a higher education entrance qualification abroad. 

Foreign students in Germany mainly come from East Asia and Eastern Europe, with China, Russia, Poland and Bulgaria leading. However, students from Western European countries such as Austria and France are also becoming more interested in studying in Germany. 

Posted by Keith Broomer

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