Preliminary figures showed that 17,600 international students started programmes at Dutch universities and universities of applied sciences this academic year, after three years of declining interest from abroad. That was above the jointly agreed annual maximum of 16,766. The increase included about 800 more students from the European Economic Area and 300 more from outside it, with a relatively larger rise among students from Asia.

Universities and universities of applied sciences linked the increase to developments in the United States, while continuing measures to limit international enrolment, including lower admission caps for English-language programmes in several fields. In total, 40,800 new students began higher-education programmes, 3.5% more than a year earlier, while total enrolment stood at 330,000, down 2,000 from the previous year.