Number of Portuguese students seeking foreign Universities increased 140%

European study shows that in July, 15,201 Portuguese student seeking to study abroad.

The number of Portuguese students applying for a foreign university is growing increasingly. Within a year, the percentage of young people in this situation grew 140%. In July of 2011 were just over six thousand, are now over 15,000. A number that puts Portugal among the EU countries where there is a greater willingness to emigrate even during the studies, a ranking dominated by the countries of South and East. The findings appear in the study "European Higher Education", organized by StudyPortals - online platform supported by the European Commission for research and comparison of university courses - which establishes a clear link between this development and the increasing rate of youth unemployment.

The United Kingdom, where he directed 24% of the applications, the Netherlands (14%) and Germany (7.7%) are the most sought after destinations by the Portuguese through this platform. Data were collected only between the universe of students who use the services of StudyPortals, which means it may be well short of the total numbers. Still, guaranteeing responsible are a good indicator, since all these path students was then monitored and it was concluded that about 90% even just to deliver the foreign application in a university.

For StudyPortals, the reasons for the phenomenon are well identified. This demand is directly related to the current economic situation, in which students from countries in Southern Europe see the courses in countries in northwestern Europe in order to improve their future career opportunities and to escape the economic outlook in their own countries with a high youth unemployment and lower wages.