Steady increase in first-year student numbers expected in Saxony

The Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs (KMK) expects the number of first-year students in Saxony to rise steadily. In the federal state, the number will rise from 16,600 in 2023 to 19,100 first-year students in 2035, as the KMK announced on Tuesday. However, the figures only refer to universities and higher education institutions sponsored by the Free State. Private universities are only included at federal level.

The number of first-year students in the eastern German states has been falling since 2019 and reached 45,245 in 2022 at state-run universities. In 2019, 53,192 first-year students were counted, and a figure of 52,300 is expected for 2035. In Saxony, there were a total of 18,868 first-year students in 2019, compared to 19,321 in 2018. According to the forecast, the number is expected to rise again in 2023 for the first time since 2018.

For Germany as a whole, the KMK predicts an increase from around 397,600 students in 2023 to 440,700 in 2035. If private universities are included, the number will rise from 477,900 to 526,200 in the same period, according to the forecast. "This is around 7500 more than in the previous peak year of 2011," it said.