More and more German young people go abroad during their school or study time. According to the German Federal Institute for Population Research one out of ten 18-33 year-olds has completed a stay abroad of at least one month. The recently published report by the German Federal Statistical Office on German students abroad confirms this trend. Compared to 2011, the number of German students abroad increased by 1.8 percent. In total 138 500 German students were enrolled at higher education institutions abroad in 2012.

At the same time, German universities have become more attractive for foreign students as well, in particular new data show evidence of an increase of incoming students from the United States. The number of US Americans who came for a study-related stay to Germany rose by 3.5 percent in the academic year 2013/2014. In total 9544 students from the United States completed a semester at one university in Germany, an internship, a summer school or a language course.