International Students Soar to 43% at Danish Universities

A surge in the preference for Danish universities among international students pursuing bachelor’s degree programs is making waves. This year has witnessed a remarkable 43 percent spike in enrollments for bachelor’s degrees compared to the previous year, 2022.

Local media outlets are abuzz with reports indicating that the current academic year has welcomed 549 more international students into English-taught bachelor’s programs, as opposed to the intake in 2022. Of the cohort of 1,835 international scholars embarking on English-taught bachelor’s journeys at Danish universities, a significant proportion hails from the EU and Nordic regions.

More on this Surge

Intriguing data from Statista, the esteemed data provider, reveals that in 2021, approximately two-thirds of the international exchange students in Denmark originated from EU nations outside the Nordics, as relayed by Erudera.com.

The realm of English-taught programs at Danish institutions has not only seen a burgeoning 21 percent expansion in total international student enrollment but has also stoked a renewed interest in Denmark as a sought-after destination for bachelor’s studies, as illuminated by Berlingske Tidende, a prominent Danish daily newspaper.

Delving deeper, the statistical panorama unfolds to unveil a riveting narrative of academic aspirations. The landscape reveals a staggering 111 percent surge in bachelor’s degree applications in Denmark between 2019 and 2023, with numbers leaping from 2,307 to 4,858. Conversely, the count of Danish students seeking higher education has experienced a marginal 3.6 percent downturn, shifting from 1,939 in 2019 to 1,871 in 2023.

A Proud Moment for Denmark

Jesper Langergaard, the director of Universities Denmark, exudes enthusiasm at the mounting enrollment figures for 2023. He heralds the growing influx of young minds into the realms of higher education, especially lauding the rising numbers in IT and engineering programs, which encompasses international pupils.

Recent developments have unveiled a tapestry of debates. Opposition parties in Denmark, namely the left-wing Red-Green Alliance and the centre-left Social Liberals, have decried the decision to impose limits on international student admissions, labelling it as “unwise,” as relayed by a Danish broadcaster. This criticism surfaces after instances where Danish institutions had to turn away international students due to government-mandated restrictions on English-taught programs, ostensibly aligned with trimming state student grant expenditures.

However, Denmark’s educational authorities have responded with a novel educational blueprint. In this fresh vision unveiled during the summer, there’s a marked intention to enhance the roster of study programs conducted in English, signalling a commitment to cater to the global academic community’s aspirations.