Student mobility in the Netherlands in 2005 has increased, in terms of both incoming and outgoing mobility, says the 2005 edition of the Internationale mobiliteit in het onderwijs in Nederland (International mobility in Dutch education). The report, which is produced every year by the Dutch ministry of education together with ACA’s member Nuffic, the Dutch organisation for international cooperation, revealed the following findings:

• Both the number of Dutch students enrolling at foreign universities and taking part to the Erasmus programme has increased;
• The number of German students studying for their degree at Dutch higher education institutions has grown remarkably, with 12 016 German students in 2005, that is twice as many than in 2002;
• 37 014 foreign students are studying for a degree in Holland (that is 3.9 per cent of the total student population). If we add the number of exchange students to this figure, the total reaches approximately 48 500;
• As regards non-EU students, there has been an increase in the number of students from Pakistan, Nepal and Turkey, whilst the number of Chinese and Vietnamese students has declined;
• The number of participants to the Leonardo scheme has also increased, with the United Kingdom being the most chosen destination. However, participation to a special exchange programme between the Netherlands and Germany has decreased.

Although this is a positive picture of the Dutch international mobility scene, the Netherlands are still behind in relation to some countries such as Australia, Germany and Belgium.