The President of the German Rectors' Conference (HRK), Prof Dr Peter-André Alt, commented in Berlin today on the press release from the Federal Statistical Office on current student numbers.
"Despite unfavourable general conditions, German universities have maintained the number of first-year students, with 474 000 young people taking up studies this year. Compared to the previous year, this is just under 2000 more first-year students, an increase of 0.4 percent. This is quite an achievement given the declining demographics, the aftermath of the Covid pandemic and the general uncertainty due to the unfavourable economic situation in the wake of the Russian attack on Ukraine.
The total number of students in the winter semester 2022/2023 is 2.9 million. This is a slight decrease of around 30 000 students compared to last year. This slight decrease of one percent can be explained by the fact that many final examinations that were postponed due to the Covid pandemic are now being held, resulting in a disproportionately higher number of students completing their studies than starting them.
Overall, the figures show that a university degree continues to be an important and attractive qualification for young people. German universities will rise to further demographic and economic challenges – as they did during the Covid pandemic."
