Most students who move elsewhere to study stay in the same part of the country

Annually, 96 thousand 18 to 21-year-olds move to another municipality, often to embark on a study in higher vocational education or university. They often settle in one of the major cities or university towns. Many of them do not leave the part of the country they grew up.

Young people usually move elsewhere to study

Two thirds of 18 to 21-year-olds move to another municipality to study, but many students prefer to live independently, which also plays a part in this respect. A small proportion of young have other reasons to move, like marriage or they start living together.

Motives for moving to another municipality

Over four in ten move to major city or university town

The four major cities and nine university towns are the most common destinations for young people who leave their parental home. One in five settle in a major town and another one in nearly four in a university town. Amsterdam, Groningen and Utrecht attract most young people: more than 6 thousand 18 to 21-year-olds annually move to each of these towns.

Annual inflow of young people by municipality, 2006-2008

University towns mainly attract people from the same part of the country

A considerable proportion of young people who embark on a study stay relatively close to home. Groningen, for example, mainly attracts young people from the north of the country and many students from the eastern part of the Netherlands opt for Enschede. The university towns of Eindhoven, Tilburg and Maastricht predominantly attract young from the south. Students from the west of the country are overrepresented in the municipalities in the Randstad region.

Wageningen has no well-defined community of students from a particular region or part of the country. Slightly more students come from the eastern part of the Netherlands, but Wageningen also has a fairly large proportion of students from the southern and western parts of the country.

Inflow of 18 to 21-year-olds by part of the country they come from, 2006-2008

Elma Wobma