September 21, 2026 Photo: Depositphotos
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More Dutch students are spending part of their degree abroad, but the proportion is still below pre-pandemic levels, according to latest official figures.
Some 24% of students who graduated from universities and vocational colleges in 2025 went abroad for part of their studies, with one in six (17%) staying for three months or longer.
Five years ago, during the most restricted phase of the coronavirus pandemic, just 16% of all students had spent time outside the Netherlands, the government statistics agency CBS said.
Spain was the most popular destination for students who took part in the Erasmus+ exchange programme between 2014 and 2024, accounting 16.9% of the total, followed by Germany (9.7%) and the UK (8.9%).
The last figure is noteworthy because Britain left the Erasmus+ scheme in 2020 as part of the Brexit agreement, though it is rejoining from next year.
Students who went abroad for their entire degree were most likely to go to Belgium, followed by the UK and the United States.
Online decline
One in seven students took part in online lessons or projects hosted by foreign colleges and universities, but here there was a declining trend, particularly among university students.
Just 10% of the latter group followed an online course, down from 14% in 2021, while for vocational students the proportion slipped from 19% to 18%.
More than one-third (36%) of recent graduates who spent time abroad also included an online element.
Chart showing proportion of university (WO) and college (HBO) students studying abroad for at least three months. Source: CBS Education Society Universities
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