Interesting Statistics About Higher Education in Poland are Published by GUS
What do you do when you see a lot of numbers, charts, and the word "statistics"? You may ignore it because sometimes it seems boring. But not today! Below you will be able to find the collection of the most interesting statistical facts that reveal a lot about higher education and science in Poland in 2019. The annual data was published on the website of the Central Statistical Office.
- Increasing expenditure on R&D
In 2019, according to a study by the Central Statistical Office, gross domestic expenditure on research and development (R&D) activities increased by 18.1% compared to the previous year.
An increase in R&D expenditure includes the effect of reforms aimed at increasing the level of innovation in Poland.
- Research funding share is growing
In 2019 research and development works were financed mainly by enterprises (50.7%) and the government sector (38.8%) comparing to 53.3% and 35.4% respectively in 2018.
- Increase in employment in R&D activities
The Central Statistical Office (GUS) reported that the staff in research and development activities in 2019 numbered 271,004 people. It is an increase of 1.8% comparing to the previous year.
- In the 2019/20 academic year, women constituted the majority of all students (57.6%) in Poland
- Public universities still dominate the higher education market in Poland.
In the previous academic year, 71.6% of the total number of students studied in public universities.
- The most popular field of studies in Poland is business administration
Most often students chose business and administration-related faculties (18.1% of the total number of students). Medical studies were chosen by 10.9%, social studies by 9.7%, and engineering and technical studies by 8.9% of students.
- More and more foreigners choose Polish universities
The interest in studying in Poland among foreign students is growing. In the 2019/20 academic year, 5% more foreign students studied in Poland than in the previous academic year. The most numerous group were students from Europe (around 61.9 thousand young people). Most of them come from Ukraine (39 thousand).
- Most of the postgraduate students are women
Postgraduate studies in the 2019/20 academic year were undertaken by 152 200 people. Women accounted for as much as 70.5% of this number.
- The number of academic teachers is growing
In 2019, 93 000 people were employed at universities. There were nearly 13 students per 1 teacher.
- There is an increase in university revenues
One of the effects of the reform of higher education is giving the universities greater independence in the administration of funds received from the state budget.
In 2019, universities' total revenues amounted to PLN 28,170.9 million (including PLN 25,335.5 million in public universities). It is 14.9% more than in the previous year.
The main source of revenues from the basic operational activity of public universities was the subsidy for the maintenance of teaching and research potential (69.4%). In non-public universities, these revenues came mainly from fees for educational services (75.0%).
If you would like to figure out how it feels to live and study in Poland, read the interview of the student from Nigeria studying Management in Dąbrowa Górnicza https://go-poland.pl/news/nigeria-poland-obtain-phd-how-does-it-feel?fbclid=IwAR06YsteWsQdEBqGgw_JqY-7fGGEQ8B458K29NDIR-FnPSJStgh5I20F800
Source: GUS