A total of 11,750 Finnish higher education students went abroad for exchange studies or international traineeships as part of their studies in 2025, said the Finnish National Agency for Education in a press release on Thursday.
The number is over a thousand more students than in the previous year. The increase is almost entirely explained by an increase in short-term mobility periods.
Long-term mobility, on the other hand, has not increased.
Of the total number of outbound mobility periods, 4,970 were short-term mobility periods, which is 24% more than in 2024. The total number of long-term mobility periods, meaning periods of three months or longer, was thus 6,780. The number remained at approximately the 2024 level.
In 2025, Finnish higher education institutions recorded a total of 12,180 inbound exchange students or trainees.
The number of inbound mobility periods has also increased somewhat from the previous year, which is explained by the increase in the number of short-term mobility periods.
In 2025, international student mobility in Finland also increased in relative terms. In relation to the number of new students, 12% of university of applied sciences (Polytechnic Institute) students and 21% of university students went on mobility periods during their studies.
The number of short-term mobility periods has already surpassed pre-pandemic levels, while the number of long-term mobility periods is still far from the pre-pandemic peak years.
University students go on long mobility periods, while university of applied sciences students favour short mobility periods
Of the outbound mobility periods of Finnish university students, 79% are longer than three months.
Long-term mobility periods continue to grow in popularity. In Finnish universities of applied sciences, 66% of all outbound mobility periods are short-term, and the number is increasing every year.
In universities of applied sciences, international student mobility is concentrated in three major fields. The number of mobility periods for studies and traineeships is highest in the field of business and administration; followed by health and welfare; and engineering, manufacturing and construction. These fields account for 68% of outbound mobility periods and 76% of inbound mobility periods. Students in the field of health and welfare almost exclusively go on short-term mobility periods.
In universities, student mobility is spread across a wider range of fields, being highest in the fields of business and administration; social sciences; and engineering, manufacturing and construction. Relative to the number of students, students in the field of arts and culture are the most active in accruing study experience abroad, both in universities and universities of applied sciences.
Student mobility for studies concentrated to European countries
European countries account for 73% of the long-term mobility periods and 89% of the short-term mobility periods of Finnish higher education students. The second most common destination is Asia, which accounts for 17% of long-term mobility periods. The third most popular destination is North America for long-term mobility (5%) and Africa for short-term mobility (3%).
Germany, Spain, the Netherlands and France are the most common countries for both outbound and inbound mobility. Germany and the Netherlands have become increasingly popular especially for short-term mobility, both inbound and outbound.
Popularity of short-term mobility explained by Erasmus+ funding
Approximately two thirds of outbound mobility periods are funded by the EU's Erasmus+ programme: 70% of the mobility periods of university of applied sciences students and 63% of the mobility periods of university students are funded by the programme. University students are more likely than university of applied sciences students to go on mobility periods through the Nordic Nordplus programme, their institutions' own agreements and arrangements made by the students themselves.
The popularity of short-term mobility periods is to a large extent explained by Erasmus+ funding. The programme allows for short, blended mobility periods, which often involve spending just a week abroad.
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Source: www.dailyfinland.fi
