Dutch universities have described a as “alarming”, warning that preliminary figures for the current academic year suggest enrolments have declined beyond the sector’s predictions.

According to the umbrella group Universities of the Netherlands (UNL), both domestic and international enrolments fell by 3.5 per cent in the 2025-26 academic year. The largest decrease was seen in intake from the European Economic Area (EEA), which dropped by almost 5 per cent, while enrolments from outside the EEA saw little change.

“The drop is steeper than expected and even exceeds the Ministry of Education’s own reference projections,” UNL spokesperson Ruben Puylaert told ����Vlog. “Demographic shrinkage among Dutch school-leavers and the continued fall in international intake were anticipated, but the combined pace of decline is sharper than foreseen.”

“We think our own measures have contributed [to the fall in enrolments],” Puylaert said. Last year, Dutch institutions took steps, under significant political pressure, to limit international intake, with universities agreeing to stop international recruitment efforts, scrap foundation years for international students and halt the development of new English-language undergraduate programmes.

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Institutions have also begun to warn prospective students of severe housing shortages in some Dutch cities, advising them not to travel unless they have secured accommodation.

“The political debate about international students has also affected the Netherlands’ image as a study destination, which likely plays a role in the decline,” Puylaert added, noting that “it is difficult to quantify how much of the decline stems from these steps alone”.

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Barend van der Meulen, higher education professor at the University of Twente, agreed that the “unwelcoming culture” towards international students may have impacted enrolment rates, as well as the “general sociopolitical culture in the Netherlands”.

Another potential contributing factor, van der Meulen said, “is that in other countries, including Germany, universities have adopted internationalisation as a strategy against decreasing student numbers”.

Because higher education funding depends to a significant extent on student numbers, said Juriaan Beuk, spokesperson for the internationalisation organisation Nuffic, “a decline in Dutch or international students will, in one way or another, have a negative effect on the financial position of the higher education sector”.

“Universities with a large international population or institutions in regions with demographic decline fear the decline in students might lead to layoffs or [the closure of] programmes with too few new enrolments,” Beuk added.

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The situation is compounded by ongoing budget cuts across higher education and research, Puylaert told THE. “Fewer students also means fewer graduates in sectors already facing major shortages,” he said.

In response, he said, “the government should set out a clear and coherent talent strategy and provide stable, long-term funding so universities can plan responsibly and maintain essential programmes and research”.

“Policy stability and a supportive framework for attracting and retaining both domestic and international talent are crucial.”

emily.dixon@timeshighereducation.com