The number of new students enrolling at public universities in Austria for the winter semester of 2024/25 has reached an all-time high, with 48,600 regular new admissions recorded – an increase of 4.6% compared to the previous winter semester.

The previous peak occurred during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020/21, when 48,300 new students enrolled, according to the Ministry of Education.

There has also been a notable rise in the proportion of students actively sitting exams at universities. In the 2023/24 academic year, nearly two-thirds (64%) of students earned at least 16 ECTS points per year, up from 57% in 2016/17.

The growth in student numbers has extended to universities of applied sciences, with 23,600 new students enrolling, marking a 13% increase from the winter semester of 2018, when the figure was just under 21,000.

Education Minister Martin Polaschek praised the figures, stating that they demonstrated the higher education system was “on the right track.” He highlighted investments in expanding universities of applied sciences, improving student-to-staff ratios at universities, and increasing study grants, all of which have created “an attractive and supportive environment for ambitious students.”