In business 22/08/2025
Cyprus is among the EU countries with the highest proportion of foreign students among higher education students, according to Eurostat.
In 2023, Eurostat notes, there were 1.76 million foreign students studying higher education across the EU, accounting for 8.4% of all students.
Cyprus, with 22.3%, ranks third among the EU countries with the highest proportion of foreign students among higher education students, after Luxembourg (52.3%) and Malta (29.6%), according to the data.
Greece (3.0%), Croatia (3.7%) and Spain (4.3%) recorded the lowest percentages.
In 20 EU countries, it is reported, the largest group of students from abroad came from other regions of Europe. This percentage was higher in Slovakia (91.3%), followed by Slovenia (89.4%) and Croatia (89.0%), it adds.
Students from Asia were the largest group of international students in Ireland (45.0%), Finland (43.35%), Germany (40.1%) and Italy (36%).
In France, more than half (52.3%) of higher education students from abroad in 2023 came from Africa, which was also the largest group of foreign students in Portugal (42.1%).
In Spain, most of the foreign higher education students (46.7%) came from the Caribbean, Central and South America.
