There are 57 119 international students from 157 countries studying in Poland in 2015/16 academic year, 10.000 more than a year ago (23% increase). Currently international students make up 4.1% of the total student body in the country (ten years ago the figure was only 0.6%, in 2015 - 3.1%). Increase of the internationalisation factor is due not only to the growing number of foreigners, but also to the decrease of the total number of students in Poland. In the academic year 2015/16 there are 1,405,133 people studying at the Polish universities – over 64,254 students fewer than in the previous year, and over 200,000 fewer than three years ago.

Ever more Ukrainians. The increase in the number of international students in Poland has been mostly due to the unprecedented influx of students from Ukraine. In the current academic year there are 30.589 students from Ukraine - 7197 more than last year. They make up over 53% of the total number of foreign students in Poland. The rapid growth of their number is the result both of a ten-years of steady marketing and promotional presence of the Polish university on this market (especially as part of the "Study in Poland" programme), and of the difficult political situation in Ukraine.

Rise of Ukrainian monoculture at some Polish universities may result in future conflicts. According to Bianka Siwińska, PhD, the author of the report "Foreign students in Poland in 2015": “Due to the steady dynamic growth of the number of Ukrainian students there is more and more talk about “ukrainisation” of Polish universities. Last year there were some xenophobic incidents in several academic centres. The academic community, public opinion, local governments and people responsible for state public policy in the field of higher education should pay special attention to these trends; they should propose solutions supporting proper integration of Ukrainian students into the life of university and local community. Good practice in this area represents the INTERSTUDENT competition for the best international student in Poland, organised for the last five years. But this is definitely not enough.

2016 trends. Belarusians are the second biggest group of foreign students in Poland (4615), followed by Norwegians (1581), Spaniards (1407) and Swedes (1291). In the academic year 2015/16 over 83% of international students came to Poland from the European countries.

In comparison with the world average, Poland has very few students from Asia - 6896. However, it should be noted that for the first time in five years we have observed a growing trend in this category. At the moment, Polish universities host 846 students from China (increase by over 60 students compared to the previous year), 505 from Taiwan, and 896 from India (increase by 351 over the previous year). The number of Vietnamese increased from 205 to 234 students and Malaysian students have slightly decreased (182).

Despite heavy promotional efforts by Polish universities, the number of students from South America is not growing (there are 173, including 82 from Brazil). The number of students from North and Central America is still low though in comparison to the previous year the number increased (there are 1230, increase by 28 students). On the other hand, we see more interest in studying in Poland in Africa (the number of students increased to 1197 in comparison to 2015, by 478). there are 127 more students from that region than last year, bringing the total up to 719). There is growing number of students from Saudi Arabia (854) and Turkey (1205).”

 Rise of Ukrainian monoculture at some Polish universities may result in future conflicts. According to Bianka Siwińska, PhD, the author of the report "Foreign students in Poland in 2014": “Due to the steady dynamic growth of the number of Ukrainian students there is more and more talk about “ukrainisation” of Polish universities. Last year there were some xenophobic incidents in several academic centres. The academic community, public opinion, local governments and people responsible for state public policy in the field of higher education should pay special attention to these trends; they should propose solutions supporting proper integration of Ukrainian students into the life of university and local community. Good practice in this area represents the INTERSTUDENT competition for the best international student in Poland, organised for the last five years. But this is definitely not enough.”

2015 trends. Belarusians are the second biggest group of foreign students in Poland (4118), followed by Norwegians (1538), Spaniards 1188 and Swedes (1290). In the academic year 2014/15 over 83% of international students came to Poland from the European countries.

In comparison with the world average, Poland has very few students from Asia–5602. However, it should be noted that for the first time in five years we have observed a growing trend in this category. At the moment, Polish universities host 785 students from China (increase by over 100% compared to the previous year), 410 from Taiwan, and 545 from India (increase by 227 over the previous year). At the same time the number of Vietnamese (205) and Malaysian (211) students have decreased slightly.

Despite heavy promotional efforts by Polish universities, the number of students from South America is not growing (there are 109, including 49 from Brazil). The number of students from North and Central America have been dropping (there are 1172, 174 fewer than last year). On the other hand, we see more interest in studying in Poland in Africa (there are 127 more students from that region than last year, bringing the total up to 719). There are also more students from Saudi Arabia (804) and Turkey (1024).

World context. It is estimated that on the global scale the market of international studies brings about USD 100 billion a year to the countries hosting foreign students. The annual input of the international students into the Polish economy is currently estimated at 150 million euro.

World context. It is estimated that on the global scale the market of international studies brings about USD 100 billion a year to the countries hosting foreign students. The annual input of the international students into the Polish economy is currently estimated at 150 million euro.

In the world over 4.5 million students study outside their own countries. According to the prognoses, by 2020 this number will double. Over a half of international students come from Asia (the majority from China, India and Korea). Most foreign students study in the OECD countries including USA, Australia, UK, Germany and France. These “great five” host over a half of all the international students in the world. Recently 7% of them travel to China.

Despite the spectacular growth, there is still not only less percentage of foreign students studying in Poland in comparison to the most developed Western countries or in China, but also in comparison with our neighbours: Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Bulgaria.

Source: Perspektywy Educational Foundation, based on information from the Central Statistical Office of Poland “Initial Data on Higher Education 2015". A detailed analysis including new detailed data, data from international sources and the results of Perspektywy own research will be presented in the report "Foreign Students in Poland 2016" to be published in September 2016.

More information: Bianka Siwińska, +48 501 535 785, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.