The Netherlands has experienced its first decrease in international student enrollment in 20 years, with 129,764 foreign students registered for full-time programs this academic year – a drop of 133 from the previous year. This contrasts with the typical annual growth of 10-20 percent. The decline is primarily driven by fewer students from Germany, down 1680, and China, down 988, with Chinese enrollment experiencing its largest decrease since 2006. Despite Germany remaining the largest source country, its student numbers have been falling annually since a peak in 2021. Conversely, applications from India and Spain increased, with Indian master's enrollments rising by 17 percent and Spanish students increasing by 28 percent. Education organization Nuffic predicts this downward trend will continue in the coming years, particularly in bachelor programs. However, international enrollment in technical fields bucked the trend, increasing by 11 percent, largely due to growth at the Technical University of Eindhoven, making engineering the second most popular field of study after economics.