During the 2025/26 academic year, there were 129,764 international students enrolled across degree levels at Dutch universities and higher professional education (HBO) – a 0.1% decline of just 133 students on the year before.
“Although it is a slight decrease, it certainly indicates a break in the trend,” said Jonatan Weenik, researcher at Nuffic, the Dutch body for internationalisation.
The figures, released in Nuffic’s annual report, show a 3.8% decline in new international undergraduate enrolments, while new master’s students were up by 2.9% at universities and 8.4% at HBOs.
According to Weenink, the increase in master’s students can partly be attributed to international students already in the country transferring from undergraduate degrees.
“If you disregard those transfer students, there is also a decline in the university master’s.”
“The fact that enrolment in bachelor’s programs continues to decline likely indicates that the drop in total numbers will continue for some time,” he said.
While 2025/26 marks the third consecutive year of declines at the undergraduate level, it is the first time that total students across universities and higher professional education have fallen.
Notably, Weenink highlighted a “striking” 28% decrease in new Chinese students, with China falling out of The Netherlands’ top five source countries for the first time since 2006.
“A possible explanation for this is the rising position of Chinese universities in international rankings, making students more inclined to study in their own country,” he suggested, noting that Chinese enrolments in other European and Western countries are showing similar trends.
Rutger Brood, head of marketing at the University of Groningen, agreed that the broader decline had not been driven by policy alone: “Demographic trends, changing student preferences, geopolitical developments and increased international competition are also shaping student mobility,” he told The PIE News.
That being said, he expected the government would see the figures as broadly in line with the objectives of recent policy measures aimed at reducing international student growth.
Meanwhile, despite remaining the top sending country, the data showed new enrolments from Germany decline by 9% last year, in continuation of a trend seen since 2020.
Elsewhere, there was a modest rebound of European students following a three-year decline, as Italy, Romania, Spain and Poland follow Germany to make up The Netherlands’ top five source markets.
The fact that enrolment in bachelor’s programs continues to decline likely indicates that the drop in total numbers will continue for some time
Jonatan Weenik, Nuffic
While overall non-European students decreased by 3.5%, Indian student totals rose by the same amount, with new master’s students from India rising by 16.5%.
What’s more, Türkiye overtook India as the second-largest sending country outside the European Economic Area, with both standing closely behind a rapidly shrinking China.
Within The Netherlands, the number of international students in the capital decreased for the first time this year by 1.7%.
“Amsterdam is, after all, the city with the most international students and has the image of a very international city,” said Weenink. “The decline fits the national picture, but is still striking in that light.”
Brood highlighted that Dutch universities have been pursuing targeted recruitment strategies in areas of strategic importance to Dutch society, labour markets and the economy, rather than seeking “growth for growth’s sake”.
This is evident in the notable 11% rise in international students taking engineering, which is now the second-largest field after economics.
Notably, the city of Eindhoven saw a significant 13.4% increase in students, largely fuelled by this trend, with Eindhoven University of Technology well known for its engineering courses.
The data follows several years of federal restrictions on international students in The Netherlands, under the government’s internationalisation in balance bill (WIB) which sought to bring down international enrolments and strengthen the Dutch language in education.
Whilst several of the bill’s most controversial measures have been rolled back – including the requirement to formally prove the right of English-taught courses to exist – universities have taken their own measures to reduce international enrolments to sustainable levels.
“The important consideration is ensuring that the Netherlands continues to educate enough highly skilled graduates to meet the needs of its economy, particularly in sectors where talent remains in high demand,” said Brood
What’s more, he said one positive development of greater government scrutiny meant it was now in regular contact about the challenges facing the sector, welcoming the “ongoing dialogue” between policymakers and universities.
