Here's the new record: young Hungarians are moving abroad to study

The Engame Academy has been tracking the number of Hungarians studying at foreign universities for eight years. According to their data,

the number has increased by 7% in one year and by 3% over a seven-year period.

Rita Nádas, Engame Academy's head of education, emphasised that this phenomenon can be viewed alongside the strengthening of domestic higher education.

According to statistics from felvi.hu, a fifteen-year record was broken in 2025 when 95,900 applicants were accepted out of more than 129,000. This represents an acceptance rate of around 74%. The data also includes young people who ultimately begin their studies abroad, since they typically submit applications in Hungary as well.

Interest in domestic universities is also growing. Last year, more than 310,000 people applied to Hungarian institutions, marking a 7% increase on the previous year. There are now more than 252,000 students enrolled in bachelor's and master's programmes, a 17% increase since the 2021/22 academic year.

Nowadays, one in fourteen Hungarian university students studies abroad, and we expect this figure to keep rising,

said Rita Nádas.

The motivations of the respondents were also assessed.

• Nearly half of them (48.8%) chose to study abroad due to domestic political and social conditions.
• The second most important factor was the range of job opportunities associated with a foreign degree (36.1%).
• Third place went to reservations about the quality of Hungarian higher education. 30.3% of respondents embarked on international studies out of a desire for adventure.

With 4,218 students, Austria tops the list of most popular destinations. Its geographical proximity, free education and predictable admissions system all contribute to this popularity. Meanwhile, there are 3,340 Hungarian students studying in the Netherlands, which offers a wide range of English-language courses — with the exception of medical training, which is now only taught in Dutch. The annual tuition fee of €2,601 remains affordable for many, and EU students who work while studying may also be eligible for significant government support.

Germany ranks third with 3,139 students. Here, the fee payable per semester is typically around €300, and many master's programmes are also taught in English. Currently, there are 1,500 Hungarian students studying in the United Kingdom and 881 in Denmark. Although education is free in Denmark, the high cost of living means it is not necessarily a cheap option.

An increasing number of alternative destinations are appearing on the map. For example, there are now 210 Hungarian students studying in Ireland, partly because several tech giants, including Google, Microsoft, Apple and Cisco, moved their European headquarters to Dublin after Brexit. Belgium, Sweden and Finland are also growing in popularity thanks to their free education systems. The number of Hungarian students at Swedish universities has increased by 22%; 49 more students are studying in Spain than a year ago; and Italy has seen a 25% increase.

Contrary to popular belief, universities in Switzerland are affordable, with more than 300 Hungarians already studying in the Alpine country. Popular foreign campuses of American universities include the Central European University (CEU) in Vienna — driven out of Hungary by the Orbán government —, McDaniel College in Budapest, and Bard College in Berlin.

Since Brexit, the United Kingdom has lost some of its appeal. For example, the number of Hungarian students attending British universities has fallen from 2,260 in the 2017/18 academic year to 1,500 today. Tuition fees have risen significantly, generally reaching around £22,000, though medical degrees can cost as much as £70,000.