Greece is the country with the most students abroad, with 51 thousand enrolled in international universities. Every year, their parents spend over ?1b. for their education. Despite the economic crisis, the surge of student emigration does not get smaller, taking advantage of the unified currencies and the cheap British pound and American dollar, which allow them to get their education in the best schools in Great Britain and USA.

According to data provided by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Greece is the EU country with the highest number of students enrolled abroad, and sixth in the world by total number of students studying abroad. First in the list is the Republic of Korea with 98 103 students, followed by Germany – 61 854, Japan – 61 437, France – 57 321, Turkey – 54 381, and Greece – 51 138. If however one compares students enrolled abroad per capita, Greece is number one in the world with 4 784 students for every 1 million citizens.

The favorite destination for the Greeks is Great Britain, where only the Chinese students are more than the Greek ones. With 20 000 students in British universities Greece is the leader among the countries from the European Union. The year-long tuition fees for an undergraduate degree there is £3 125 which is higher than Scotland and Wales- around £1 250. The postgraduate degree tuition fee is higher- between £3 200 and £8 000 per year. An exception is the Master of Business Administration degree which costs £20 000 per year.

Traditionally, American Universities attract many foreign students, including Greeks. In 2008, the number of foreign students in the USA rose by 7 per cent, despite the world recession. Around 1000 Greeks study for a an undergraduate degree and a further 1 500 for a postgraduate degree in American Universities, with Economics, Business Administration and Natural Sciences being the most popular. The cost of education varies between $21 000 and $ 30 000 per annum.