Germany is seeing a sustained decline in domestic enrolment in STEM—known locally as MINT (Mathematik, Informatik, Naturwissenschaften, Technik)—according to official education and labour-market data.
The German Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) reported that in the academic year 2021, the number of students starting a STEM course was 6.5 per cent lower than in the previous year.
This development is occurring alongside an overall decline in student numbers. Destatis data for the winter semester 2023/24 show a total of 2,871,500 students enrolled at German higher-education institutions, a 1.7 per cent decrease compared to 2022/23 and the second consecutive year of falling enrolments.
The downward trend is particularly relevant for engineering and technical disciplines. An analysis by the Centre for Higher Education (CHE) finds that 11 out of 12 engineering fields have lost first-year students over a ten-year period, with mechanical and process engineering recording especially strong declines.
International Students Compensate Much of the Domestic Decline
While domestic participation is falling, international students are increasingly stabilising overall MINT enrolment figures.
In a recent post, Kai Sicks, Secretary-General of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), cites DAAD analyses linked to the MINT-Herbstreport of the German Economic Institute (IW), noting that international students compensate around 74 per cent of the decline in total MINT student numbers and around 73 per cent of the decline among first-year MINT students.
This indicates that while domestic MINT enrolment is shrinking, the overall number of students in MINT fields has remained more stable due to rising international participation.
Engineering and IT Dominate International Student Choices
Discipline-level data reinforces this shift. According to statistics compiled by the federal information portal Studying in Germany, 43.1 per cent of all international students in Germany study engineering, making it the most popular field among foreign students, ahead of law, economics and social sciences.
A snapshot survey by DAAD for the winter semester 2023/24 found that between 380,000 and 390,000 international students were enrolled at German higher-education institutions; a more detailed update puts the number at 379,900 international students in that semester.
These figures confirm that Germany remains one of the leading global destinations for international students, with a strong concentration in technical and scientific subjects.
The MINT-Herbstreport of the German Economic Institute (IW) emphasises that MINT professionals, including international graduates, make an important contribution to innovation and economic growth, and that international MINT students play a role in mitigating existing skills shortages.
Labour-Market Context and Skills Demand
These enrolment patterns coincide with sustained demand for skilled professionals across Germany’s economy. The German Employers’ Confederation (BDA) and partner organisations have highlighted a significant shortage of MINT specialists. For example, the MINT-Herbstreport 2024 identifies a skills gap of around 209,000 positions in MINT occupations, with particular pressure in energy, electrical, machinery and vehicle-related fields.
Earlier reports cited by employer associations indicated even higher gaps in previous years, underlining that the MINT shortage remains at a structurally elevated level.
Studies by IW further note that international students and graduates make a measurable contribution to Germany’s economic development and public finances, with positive effects increasing when more of them remain in the country after completing their studies.
Information from the federal portal “Make it in Germany” and DAAD-linked analyses shows that more than one-third of international students from non-EU countries stay in Germany for a longer period, and OECD data place Germany among the countries with the highest retention rates of international students worldwide, alongside Canada.
Variations Across Disciplines and Completion Patterns
Despite overall stabilisation through international enrolment, discipline-specific differences persist. CHE analyses show particularly strong declines in first-year student numbers in mechanical and process engineering over the last decade, while computer science is one of the few engineering fields to record growth in new entrants.
Completion data also remains a relevant factor. A synthesis of German dropout research summarised by Heublein et al. reports that around 31 per cent of Bachelor’s students and 21 per cent of Master’s students leave higher education without a degree, with above-average dropout rates in mathematics, natural sciences and engineering.
These patterns affect both domestic and international cohorts and are taken into account in assessments of future skills supply.
Current Picture
Taken together, official and research data from Destatis, DAAD, Studying in Germany, the German Economic Institute (IW), CHE and German dropout studies point to a clear divergence in enrolment patterns:
- Domestic participation in MINT fields is declining, including in several core engineering disciplines.
- International students account for a growing share of MINT enrolments and, according to DAAD/IW calculations, compensate for most—but not all—of the recent decline in MINT student numbers and first-year entrants.
This combination of trends is reshaping the composition of Germany’s higher-education and skills pipeline, with international students playing an increasingly central role in MINT study programmes.
