Abstract:

This study aims to analyse the student mobility flows within the European higher education system. Taking into account different European countries, the research intends to study the origins of the European students they receive as well as the mobility flows from such countries to other European nations. That is to say, the study examines the international students coming from other European regions on the one hand, and also intends to offer a general vision of students that study abroad but within the European higher education system.

More specifically, a classification of the higher education systems analyzed is included, according to the percentage of foreign students they receive from different European countries. A cluster analysis was used for this purpose. A classification based on the percentage of students enrolled in higher education abroad in different European countries was also elaborated using a cluster analysis.

The analysis indicates that the group of countries formed by Austria, Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland is remarkable for its high average percentage of French, German, Italian, Spanish and Dutch students. In contrast, the group of countries formed by Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Turkey, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Norway and the United Kingdom is outstanding for its high average percentage of Russian, Ukrainian and Greek students.

Lastly, the classification based on mobility flows to other European countries shows two clearly differentiated groups of countries. The first includes Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, the Russian Federation, Turkey, Ukraine, Austria and the United Kingdom and is distinguished by a high average percentage of students that opt for studies in the German higher education system. The group formed by the rest of the countries is remarkable for a high average percentage of students enrolled in higher education in the United Kingdom.

Keywords:

Mobility flows, higher education systems, study abroad, international students.