The latest data from the Czech Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports shows that the total number of students with non-Czech citizenship enrolled in degree programmes increased by 8.1% in 2020 in comparison with the previous year. This contradicts expectations that the pandemic was likely to have a negative impact on the number of international students at Czech higher education institutions. The total number of international students in the Czech Republic rose from 46 351 students in 2019 to 50 121 students in the last year, accounting for over 17% of the student body.

The number of students from Russia, India, and Iran increased by more than 20%, while for those from Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Belarus the figure grew by more than 10%. According to some university representatives, this number has risen because of the new possibility of remote, online enrolment and commencement of classes via web platforms.

On the other side, a drop in the number of short-term exchange students was reported: the country received 9 740 such students in 2020 in comparison with 15 813 students in 2019.

Read more on these figures here, and find more Education Ministry statistics here (in Czech).