9% EU graduates engaged in mobility abroad

Brussels: Approximately 386 900 students who graduated in 2021 in EU countries had studied abroad during their degree for at least 3 months (so-called credit mobile graduates, enrolled in tertiary education ISCED levels 5-8). As there were approximately 4.3 million graduates in the EU, this means that 9% of EU graduates participated in a mobility programme abroad.

In 2021, among the EU members, the largest number of graduates, who had credit mobility stays, was in France, numbering approximately 176 100, or a 45.5% share of the total. With 68 700 (excluding doctoral or equivalent studies), or a 17.8% share of the EU total, Germany had the second highest number of credit mobile graduates. Spain ranked third with approximately 40 100 credit mobile graduates, with a share of 10.4%.

The main destination for EU graduates who had studied abroad was the United Kingdom, accounting for 10.7% of all credit mobile graduates, followed by Spain (9.4%) and the United States (7.5%).

In some cases, other factors such as similar language, cultural and historical ties, as well as geographical proximity played an important role. Some EU members attracted large shares of students from specific EU countries. Greece had by far the highest share of students from Cyprus, 68%. Germany received 29.9% of credit mobile graduates from Luxembourg, while Czechia hosted 27% of students from Slovakia.

Examining the top three destinations for each EU country, Spain and Germany were the most common destinations. Among non-EU countries, the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia were the only countries to appear among the top three destinations for credit mobile graduates from any of the EU members.