The study „Countering Demographic Decline – How Germany’s shrinking universities attract and retain international students”, published by the Expert Council of German Foundations on Integration and Migration and funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, thematises the demographic change in Germany and how the universities encounter it.

Currently, one in six of Germany’s 263 public universities and universities of applied sciences has significantly fewer enrolled students than it did in 2012, 41 universities are shrinking due to this reason. 42% of the shrinking universities try to compensate for the decline of domestic students with international students. Universities are trying to become more attractive for international students by increasing their visibility at the international level through language schools and partner universities as well as websites, while at the same time they are providing additional support for refugees.

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