Special Focus: A new study records the economic impact of German education exports for the first time

The study entitled "Die wirtschaftliche Bedeutung deutscher Bildungsexporte" (The Economic Impact of German Education Export) commissioned by iMOVE presents the first attempt at a systematic overview of the German education sector with its different segments as well as in estimating the economic impact of education exports.

According to the study, the German education export in 2009 amounted to 9.4 billion euros. This export volume shows that education plays a significant role in the German services sector and that its economic impact has so far been underestimated. The education export outmatches the export of insurance services (2.9 billion euros), advertising and exhibition services (3.8 billion euros) and financial services (9 billion euros).

The study commissioned by iMOVE and carried out by Booz & Company covers the education segments of school education, vocational education and training, higher education, German language teaching, export of educational products, product trainings and education-related consulting services. The export of vocational education and training with its volume of 700 Million euros proved to be particularly important, as it is the segment with the largest direct export revenues.

At present, an internationally valid definition of education exports and a generally accepted methodology of data generation do not exist. Therefore an objective international comparison of education exports is hardly possible. The study nevertheless assumes that Germany belongs to the three to five global market leaders in education export. The particular strength of the German education export lies in the field of industry-related training. The latter includes vocational education and training as well as product trainings and education-related consulting services.

In Germany, education is still not defined as an economic sector. Economic data on education, particularly on education export, have so far not been made available in a suitable form. For this reason, the study includes recommendations on further development of the methodology of data generation and on creation of an appropriate database.

The printed version of the study in German is available free of charge on request at info@imove-germany.de or as a free download at the website "For German providers".