Germany had 426,200 international students and doctoral candidates at its universities in the 2025/26 winter semester, about 6% more than a year earlier. The figures come from Wissenschaft weltoffen 2026, the annual report of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the German Centre for Higher Education Research and Science Studies (DZHW), published on 14 October 2026.
The number of international first-year students also reached a new high, at about 130,000. India is the largest country of origin, with about 69,000 students, followed by China with about 39,000. By region, 34% come from Asia and the Pacific, 20% from North Africa and the Middle East and 14% from Western Europe.
Half of all international students are on master's programmes and 37% on bachelor's programmes. Engineering is by far the most popular subject group, with 44% of international students, and 56% study a STEM subject overall, against 33% of German students.
The report ranks Germany fourth in the world as a host country for international students, behind the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia, and DAAD President Joybrato Mukherjee called it the most important non-English-speaking host country. For international researchers Germany ranks second, behind the United States. About 50,700 international doctoral candidates were in Germany in 2024.
Our Germany guide covers tuition, the blocked account and the work rules. RWTH Aachen, Freie Universität Berlin and the DAAD scholarships each have their own page on our board.
