ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has remained the world’s leading recipient of Erasmus Mundus scholarships for a fifth consecutive year, with Pakistani students securing the highest number of awards under the European Union-funded postgraduate programme in the 2026 selection cycle.

According to official Erasmus+ selection data, Pakistani students secured 98 fully funded Erasmus Mundus scholarships in 2026, placing the country ahead of all other participating nations. The achievement highlights Pakistan’s continued strong performance in one of the world’s most competitive international scholarship programmes.

A total of 1,872 scholarships were awarded to students from 135 countries in the latest selection cycle. Among the top-performing countries, Bangladesh ranked second with 80 scholarship recipients, followed by India with 75. The United States and Italy completed the top five with 68 and 67 scholarship awardees, respectively.

The Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters programme enables students to pursue master’s degrees through partnerships between multiple European universities. The programme covers major educational expenses, including tuition fees, travel costs, visa expenses and living allowances.

Pakistan has consistently recorded strong results in recent years. In 2025, 114 Pakistani students secured Erasmus+ Joint Masters scholarships from a global pool of 2,176 selected candidates representing 137 countries.

In 2024, Pakistani students won 189 Erasmus Mundus scholarships, with 2,603 students selected worldwide from 137 countries.

Funded by the European Union under the Erasmus+ framework, the programme promotes academic mobility and international collaboration by allowing students to study in more than one European country during their degree programme.

Pakistan’s continued success in the scholarship programme reflects the growing participation of its students in international higher education opportunities and global academic exchanges.