More than half of all students in Austria work alongside their studies, according to a Europe-wide survey published this week.

The Eurostudent 8 study, which covers 25 European countries, shows that 56% of students in Austria work during the whole lecture period, 12% above the European average.

In 52% of cases, the job is related to the student’s field of study.

The highest number of working students is in Iceland, where 62% are employed alongside their studies.

The motives for working vary, with covering living costs being the most common response (70% across all countries), closely followed by the desire to afford extras (69%).

Gaining work experience was cited by 59% of working students, with 48% working to afford to be a student, and 26% working to support others financially.

Across all countries, about 9% of students have serious thoughts of completely abandoning their studies. Dropout intentions are higher among students working more than 20 hours a week, with 13% of such students in Austria considering leaving their studies, on par with Hungary, Poland, and Georgia. Only in Croatia, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic are dropout intentions higher, at 14%.

Every fourth student across all countries has an international background, either through their family or education.

In Austria, 24% of students already hold foreign higher education qualifications, with 11% of students classified as second-generation migrants who attended school in Austria.