According to figures published by the European Commission, Spain became the leading source of Erasmus students to other European Union countries in the academic year 2009-2010, with 31,158. The country also maintained the leading position it obtained in the academic year 2001-2002 as the top destination for these study grant beneficiaries from the EU.
In the academic year 2008-2009, France was listed as the country sending the most Erasmus students abroad with Spain down in third place. Last year, however, Spain relegated France to second place on this list of countries, followed by Germany in third place. In terms of the number of Erasmus students who travelled to Spain during the academic year 2009-2010, the country recorded a total of 35,389 followed by France and the United Kingdom.
Spain is also the top country in terms of the number of teachers or academic staff who travel abroad under the Erasmus programme (another of the options available), followed by Germany and Poland, and the second country in terms of the number of teachers or academic staff received (mainly from Germany and Italy).
In the academic year 2009-2010, seven Spanish universities were listed among the top ten European universities receiving the most Erasmus students. The University of Granada (with 1,858 students) was the European university to receive the most Erasmus students, followed by the University of Valencia and the Complutense University of Madrid.
Five of the top ten European source universities for Erasmus students were Spanish. This list was led by the Complutense University of Madrid, which sent 1,473 students to other European universities in the academic year 2009-2010.
7.4% more Erasmus students
More than 213,000 European students obtained an Erasmus grant to study or receive training abroad during the 2009-2010 academic year. This is the largest number ever and represents an increase of 7.4% on the previous year, according to data from the European Commission.
Over the course of the 23-year history of the Erasmus grants, Spain has provided 14% of the total number of beneficiaries, thus ranking in third place behind France (15.24%) and Germany (15.21%). A total of 319,397 Spanish students have enjoyed a student mobility Erasmus grant to complete their studies abroad.
For Europe as a whole and including the figures from 2010, a total of 2,278,414 students from all over Europe have enjoyed these grants since 1987.
The European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, Androulla Vassiliou, was responsible for publishing the figures regarding participation in the Erasmus programme during the academic year 2009-2010 and highlighted that the programme is one of the great success stories of the European Union, «The latest figures speak for themselves – Erasmus is more popular than ever and I am committed to securing more resources for it in the future».
