Cyprus ranks third in the European Union for the proportion of foreign students in tertiary education, with international students comprising 22.3% of total enrollment, according to latest Eurostat data.
The 2023 figures show 1.76 million foreign students studying at EU universities, representing 8.4% of the total student population across the bloc.
Only Luxembourg, with 52.3% foreign students, and Malta, with 29.6%, recorded higher proportions than Cyprus. The lowest percentages were registered in Greece at 3.0%, Croatia at 3.7%, and Spain at 4.3%.
Regional patterns emerged in student origins across EU member states. In 20 EU countries, the majority of foreign students came from other European nations, with Slovakia leading at 91.3%, followed by Slovenia at 89.4% and Croatia at 89.0%.
Asian students formed the largest foreign contingent in Ireland (45.0%), Finland (43.3%), Germany (40.1%) and Italy (36%).
France attracted primarily African students, who comprised 52.3% of its foreign student population. Africa also represented the main source region for Portugal at 42.1%.
Spain drew heavily from the Caribbean, Central and South America, with students from these regions accounting for 46.7% of foreign enrollment.
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