Number of registered students

Total number of enrolled students

On October 1, 2022, there were 340,179 students enrolled in a bachelor's or master's programme; almost the same as in October 2021.

Most students are registered as full-time students. The number of part-time students with 5,102 students is 5.8% more than last year. Part-time enrollments are more common in master's degree programmes.

The majority of the student population consists of undergraduate students. A bachelor's programme takes a nominal time of 3 years, but not everyone completes the program within this nominal study duration. In 2022/'23, 216,835 students will be registered as Bachelor's students, 1.5% more than the year before.

123,344 students will be registered in the master's phase in 2022/'23. Master's programmes usually have a duration of 1 year (60 credits) in the sectors of Economics, Behavior and Society, Law,  Language and Culture. So-called research master's degrees in these sectors and also master's programmes within the Nature, Technology, Agriculture and Health sectors generally last 2 years. The Health sector also includes 3-year master's programmes.

Students who are enrolled in both a bachelor's and master's programme are counted once in the phase for which tuition has been paid.

NB: Due to the corona situation, it was possible in 2021 under certain conditions to start with a master's degree program without the bachelor's degree having been fully completed. These students were enrolled in both a bachelor's and master's degree programme.

NB: the Open University has a different educational model and is therefore not included in the numbers. The number of university students registered at the Open University on the reference date 31 December 2022 is 16,940 students.

Number of registered students per university

The University of Amsterdam has long been the largest university in the Netherlands. Closely followed by Utrecht University and the University of Groningen. Incidentally, most universities have grown in student numbers in recent years.

The visual below shows the order of size in absolute numbers. It is possible to filter to find out: which university has the largest number of bachelor's or master's students? Which universities are the largest within a certain sector/HOOP area? And which university has the most female students?

Please note: science-oriented master's programs usually last 2 years, while other master's programs have a duration of one academic year.

Enrolled international students

The number of international students in Dutch universities is increasing. In the 2022/23 academic year, on the reference date 1 October, a total of 85,239 international students are enrolled in a bachelor's or master's degree programme at a Dutch university. This is 7% more than last year. In the current year, international students will make up 25% of the total university student population.

Of the total number of international students, 72% come from countries belonging to the European Economic Area (EEA).

The group of International students comes from European countries outside the EEA. The growth in this group in 2021/'22 is mainly caused by students from the United Kingdom from 2021/'22 belonging to a European non-EEA country.

 22% come from outside Europe (for numbers: see chart below). The origin of a small number of international students is unknown.