Madrid is an increasingly attractive destination for university students around the world. The number of students enrolling across borders is increasing and now outweighs the number of students choosing Catalonia by several thousand. And the center is … Higher education in our region has a special attraction among students from America and has given “Solpasso” to Europeans in the last six years, already surpassing them by up to 10 points.
It’s almost a cliché to say Madrid is fashionable. This recognition has been achieved in many areas, and education is one of them. The internationalization statistics of the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities reflect a gradual increase in student arrivals at Madrid universities. The real change is the gravitational pull these spaces have among students from the United States, who are by far the most increasing number of students.
The main sources of this population are France, Italy, China, the United States, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Romania, Ecuador, Germany, Chile, Venezuela, and Portugal. A total of 19,511 people were from the EU. There were 18,678 people from Latin America, including 4,284 from the United States and 263 from Canada. However, in recent years there has been a clear change in trends. The number of students from neighboring European countries is about the same, but the number of students from the New World is gradually increasing.
According to the statistics presented, in the academic year 2023-24, 54,647 students from other countries were admitted to all universities in Madrid. Of these, 15,928 are enrolled through mobility programs such as Erasmus, while the rest are regular enrollees.
The evolution of these numbers is interesting. In 2014-15, there were 22,348 people enrolled in higher education centers in the region, and that number is now more than double. If in the same year 37.5 percent came from the European Union, 33.8 percent from Latin America and the Caribbean, and 1 percent from the United States and Canada, the data has changed: now 42.6 percent comes from Latin America, and European countries still account for 33 percent of the total. In the United States, the percentage has increased further, reaching nearly 8%.
Some young people come from far away to attend universities within the region. In the base year of 2023-2024, 56 people from Pakistan participated. 112 people from Taiwan. 270 people from Korea. 43 people from Iran. and 4,607 people from China. Participants from Asia and Oceania make up a total of 15 percent.
lower rates
As Madrid seeks explanations for its sudden success in attracting university students from other countries, the heads of the Ministry of Education remind themselves that they have worked hard to achieve this. It precisely attacks the pocket, one of the most sensitive elements. In October 2023, the local government announced that it would amend the official price law so that university students from Latin American countries pay the same university tuition fees as Spanish and European Union students. This idea is about to come true in this course. In fact, the Ministry of Education has ensured that the Decree, once finalized, will be applied retroactively to this year.
Given that the cost of credits has traditionally been much higher for foreigners than for nationals, measures to reduce university tuition fees will undoubtedly be a major incentive for students to arrive at university. If you are Spanish or from the European Union, initial registration at a public university costs approximately 21 euros per credit.
However, those from outside the region paid up to six times more. Due to the amendments to the fee legislation, students from Latin American countries who enroll in public universities in Madrid will now pay the same tuition fees as students in Madrid, which will undoubtedly represent significant savings for them in this regard.
The increasing influx of students from the United States to Madrid’s universities was recently confirmed by the CC Union. analyzed the region’s university system in a February 2025 report and concluded that Madrid’s university population has increased by almost 18 percent over the past decade. However, this figure was 10 percentage points lower than the increase among young people aged 20 to 25 living in the community. This meant that universities became more crowded, but also young people from other places.
Other numbers in this same report confirm this. The proportion of university students habitually resident in the Community of Madrid decreased from 72.6% of the total enrollment in 2015-16 to 68.3% in 2022-23. And even if this happens among those studying a degree, the disparity is even greater among those pursuing a master’s degree. Here, students in the same reference course enrolled with habitual residence in the Community of Madrid increased from 48.8% to 39.5%.
Our region has a larger proportion of people aged 25 to 34 with higher education than any other region. The same source concludes that this will happen because students will be coming from other autonomous communities and other countries. They cite as an example that in the 2022-23 academic year, approximately 80,736 undergraduate students have their usual place of residence outside the Community of Madrid, representing 31.7 percent of the total.
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