The share of foreign scientific personnel at Netherlands universities, overall and by area of origin
In short
- The share of foreign academic staff is growing.
- In 2023, 48% of academic staff came from abroad.
- Most of the foreign scientific personnel come from Europe.
How has the share of foreign academic staff developed?
| Share of foreign scientists | |
| 2003 | 19,8 |
| 2004 | 21 |
| 2005 | 22,6 |
| 2006 | 24,7 |
| 2007 | 26,5 |
| 2008 | 28,6 |
| 2009 | 30,9 |
| 2010 | 32,2 |
| 2011 | 33,3 |
| 2012 | 34 |
| 2013 | 34,7 |
| 2014 | 35,7 |
| 2015 | 36,3 |
| 2016 | 37,5 |
| 2017 | 38,8 |
| 2018 | 40,3 |
| 2019 | 41,9 |
| 2020 | 43,7 |
| 2021 | 45,3 |
| 2022 | 46,4 |
| 2023 | 48,2 |
| EER | European (Non EEA) | Not European + unknown | |
| 2007 | 0,566806799 | 0,078413453 | 0,354779748 |
| 2008 | 0,557067891 | 0,072974746 | 0,369957363 |
| 2009 | 0,546211126 | 0,070959264 | 0,38282961 |
| 2010 | 0,548696845 | 0,069958848 | 0,381344307 |
| 2011 | 0,544394971 | 0,072682032 | 0,382922996 |
| 2012 | 0,546736093 | 0,071882144 | 0,381381763 |
| 2013 | 0,558744175 | 0,06855531 | 0,372700515 |
| 2014 | 0,559158736 | 0,065444719 | 0,375396546 |
| 2015 | 0,5647527 | 0,064468448 | 0,370778852 |
| 2016 | 0,563667597 | 0,062486579 | 0,373845823 |
| 2017 | 0,565186609 | 0,061596035 | 0,373217356 |
| 2018 | 0,557413068 | 0,058368361 | 0,384218571 |
| 2019 | 0,555584919 | 0,074171952 | 0,370243129 |
| 2020 | 0,550217305 | 0,075306203 | 0,374476492 |
| 2021 | 0,512909525 | 0,104650322 | 0,382440153 |
| 2022 | 0,50959257 | 0,106636838 | 0,383770592 |
| 2023 | 0,533553355 | 0,077985576 | 0,388461068 |
What is the origin of the foreign scientific staff?
| 2020 | |
| Unknown | 0,11% |
| Japan | 0,36% |
| Indonesia | 0,79% |
| Oceania | 0,78% |
| Africa (excl. Egypt) | 1,75% |
| Turkey | 2,85% |
| Asia | 3,11% |
| Belgium | 4,89% |
| North America | 5,34% |
| South and Central America | 5,50% |
| Middle East | 6,33% |
| India | 6,64% |
| Eastern Europe | 7,50% |
| China | 10,13% |
| Europe other | 10,59% |
| Germany | 14,55% |
| Southern Europe | 18,65% |
Analysis
The share of foreign scientific personnel at universities in the Netherlands has grown over the past decade, from 19.8% in 2003 to 48.2% in 2023. This growth can be seen in all university personnel categories, in all universities and in all scientific areas.
The largest share of foreign scientific personnel at the Netherlands universities is coming from Europe, 61.1% of total (2023).
facts and figures
19,8% share of foreign academic staff in 2003
48,2% share of foreign academic staff in 2023
61,1% of the foreign academic staff comes from Europe
The data are obtained from the WOPI-file of UNL. The WOPI-data (Information on scientific education personnel) is annually requested by UNL from fourteen universities, conform a standardized format and agreed definitions. The reference date for the WOPI-data is 31st December for each year. All personnel is included who have a permanent or temporary employment contract or contractual agreement for a fixed number of working hours at a university. Student-Assistants excluded.
Over time, the personnel of almost all the academic hospitals have moved from the medical faculty or university as employer towards the academic hospital or the university medical centre (umc). The scientific field (HOOP-classification) Health sciences therefore shows an inconsistent pattern over time and is therefore not included in the data and graphs.
For an explanation of the used definitions and abbreviations we refer to the webpage Definitions for Science in Figures.
Downloads
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Download factsheet NL-Cijfers over universitair personeel(WOPI).xlsx
NL-Cijfers over universitair personeel(WOPI).xlsx
file type xlsx - file size 301.55 KB