More European Exchange Students in Finland

Most are here for six months. The largest numbers come from Germany (1,102), France (837) and Spain (569).

"Finnish tertiary educational institutions seem to be very attractive, as foreign exchange students apply to both universities and polytechnics throughout the country," says Juha Ketolainen of the Centre for International Mobility (CIMO) in Helsinki. He says students are drawn to Finland by a reputation for high-quality education and student services, the large choice of courses in English and the exoticism of the far north. Meanwhile nearly 4,000 Finns are studying abroad through the Erasmus programme. The primary destination is Germany. About one third of Finns studying overseas are in business fields. Other popular fields are the arts, health care, social sciences, languages and law. YLE24