First university degrees: Berlin in top position

Brain City Berlin

Brain City Berlin has the highest rate of first-time university graduates nationwide. According to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), the rate in 2023 was 51 per cent.

Around 297,200 students obtained their first university degree in Germany in 2023. Converted, this results in a rate of 32 percent. The so-called first-time graduate rate indicates the proportion of students aged between 21 and 29 in an examination year (winter semester plus the following summer semester) who have obtained their first university degree compared to the population of the same age. The degrees achieved are mainly bachelor’s degrees (86 percent), but also diploma degrees or first state examinations. Berlin is at the top of this ranking nationwide – with a rate of 51 per cent. Brandenburg is right at the bottom with 23 per cent. However, according to Destatis, it should be noted that many students in the capital are likely to be part of the population in Brandenburg. Other city-states also benefited from the immigration of students from surrounding areas.

Overall, the number of first-time graduates in 2023 was slightly lower than in 2022, which recorded around 301,300 first-time graduates. Despite this slight decline: The first-time graduate rate in 2023 was 1.7 times higher than 20 years ago (2003: 18 percent). It rose especially until 2012. After 2013, the proportion of first-time graduates in the population of the same age was between 31 and 32 per cent every year. The figure only fell to 30 per cent in 2020 due to postponed examinations during the coronavirus pandemic. As a result of the catch-up effect, however, the nationwide rate then rose to 33 per cent in 2021 – its highest level to date.

According to the Berlin-Brandenburg Statistical Office, a total of 200,527 students are enrolled as full-time or part-time students at universities and universities of applied sciences in Berlin in the current winter semester 2024/25 – 87 more than a year ago. (vdo)