Press release No. N004 of 23 January 2023
- Record high: women accounting for nearly 35% of students in their first semester on a STEM course in 2021
- Ranking first in the EU: 36% of Bachelor’s and equivalent degrees in Germany obtained in a STEM subject
WIESBADEN – Discussions about the shortage of skilled labour often focus on the STEM occupations, as they are called. Experts in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics are needed urgently. However, the number of students starting a course from this subject area has gone down significantly. In the academic year of 2021, approximately 307,000 students were in their first semester on a STEM course, according to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). This was a decrease of 6.5% compared with a year earlier. The decline is partly due to the fact that the total number of new entrants has gone down since 2019. In 2021 it was 4% lower than a year earlier. The number of 17 to 22-year-olds in Germany also went down over that period. In addition, the number of foreign students coming to Germany to start a course of study decreased due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The proportion of students in their first semester on a STEM course is declining at the same time. 37.7% decided in favour of a STEM subject in 2021. In 2015, that share had been 40.5%, an all-time high.
