The UK has moved into first place, followed by Germany leaping from fifth in 2024 to second in 2025. France and Australia complete the top five.
“Perception is everything, and even slight changes to one or more factors can have significant negative or positive effects, as can be seen in the rising and declining popularities of Germany and the US,” said the study’s author Andrew Crisp, co-founder of education consultancy CarringtonCrisp.
“While a quarter indicate that they are no longer considering the US because of the policies of the Trump government, other factors are at play,” he added.
The US has topped the rankings for five out of the last seven years, until 2025 when it dropped to third place.
Notably, almost three-quarters of respondents (74%) said they were concerned about the high cost of studying in the US, while roughly one in five were worried about visa challenges and post-graduation work opportunities.
The findings come as affordability concerns are on the rise globally, with a recent survey from ApplyBoard finding it is now the top concern of 91% of international students when choosing a study destination.
“However, more important than cost is value, with students thinking about career outcomes and how these play into the cost of study,” Crisp told The PIE News.
Career outcomes and return on investment have been key drivers of Germany’s increasing popularity among international students, reinforced by the study, which surveyed more than 2,000 prospective students across 36 countries.
As many of the traditional destinations are perceived to be shutting their doors to international students, two-thirds of respondents believed it was easy to get a visa to study in Germany. Less than half (49%) of respondents said the same thing about the US.
The respondents were slightly more optimistic about post-graduation work opportunities in Germany than the UK and USA, with 78% of students perceiving Germany to have a dynamic economy compared to the US (74%) and UK (76%).
While a quarter indicate that they are no longer considering the US because of the policies of the Trump government, other factors are at play
Andrew Crisp, CarringtonCrisp
Crucially, the UK was considered the most welcoming destination and the most attractive to international students, with 80% and 85% of respondents respectively agreeing with the assertions.
Germany was perceived as both welcoming and attractive by 76% of respondents, while the US was considered attractive by 74% but welcoming by only 59%.
The UK’s appeal among international students comes despite government measures to tighten immigration and proposals to shorten the Graduate Route, as well as a new levy on international student fees likely to cause tuition fee hikes for overseas students.
“Perhaps the UK has benefitted from students turning away from other destinations, especially the historically leading destination countries which have all been talking about barriers to international students,” suggested Crisp.
The survey’s findings reinforce recent shifts in global student mobility, with more students looking to study closer to home or for shorter study periods, with Crisp attributing these trends to the impact of the pandemic.
“Add into that global rankings which highlight the increasing quality provision across the world and wider provision in English, and students have greater choice of where to study,” he said.
