The 2008-2009 academic year - summary

In the 2008/2009 academic year there were about 1 927.8 thousand students in higher education institutions, i.e. by 0,5 % fewer than in the previous year. It was the third successive year to record a decline in the number of students, which could have been influenced to a large extent by demographic changes (from year to year the population aged 19-24 has been decreasing).

71,3% of all higher schools are non-public. However, the majority were students of public schools who amounted to 1.27 m and made up 65.8% of all students. Women accounted for 57.0% of all students.

The number of foreign students in Polish higher schools is increasing. In the academic year 2008/2009 they amounted to 15.9 thousand, i.e. 0.8% of all students.

The most numerous were students from Europe -10.7 thous. persons in total, of whom most came from Ukraine, Belarus, Norway and Czech Republic.

In 2008 there were 862.1 thousand students learning modern foreign languages in obligatory courses. Their number fell slightly in comparison with the previous year.

90.3% of students learning foreign languages attended only one foreign language course. Students learning one foreign language accounted for 40.7% of the students' population. 4.2 % were learning two foreign languages in the academic year 2008/2009 and 0.2% of students - three or more languages.

The number of graduates in the academic year 2007/2008 increased by nearly 10.8 thous. (i.e. by 2.6%) on the academic year 2006/2007 and came to 420.9 thousand.

The number of persons in post-graduate studies in the academic year 2008/2009 declined by 5.1 thous. on the previous year, they amounted to 168.4 thousand. In comparison with the academic year 2006/2007 there were by 17.7 thous. persons more (11.8%) and almost three times as many as in 1995.66.5% of all post-graduate students were women.

In the academic year 2008/2009 a total of 32.5thous. persons attended PhD studies conducted by tertiary education schools, science and research institutes, Polish Academy of Sciences units and the Medical Centre of Post-graduate Education, which means a slight increase on the previous year.


source: Central Statistical Office, Higher Education Institutions and their Finances in 2008