France reaches 400,000 international students

The number of international higher education students in France topped 400,000 for the first time in the 2021/22 academic year, according to new data released by the government, following the fastest year-on-year growth in 15 years and increases from several European countries.

Data from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and presented by Campus France shows that there were 400,026 international students enrolled in 2021/22, including international apprentices in higher education.

The 393,630 students at higher education institutions in France in 2021/22 represented an eight per increase compared with the previous year, when a slight decline had been registered due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Morocco continued to be the largest source market for French institutions with 46,371 students, a three per cent increase compared with the previous year and growth of 22 per cent over the last five years. Algeria was second with 31,032 students, a six per cent year-on-year increase, followed by China which declined by two per cent

Campus France said that growth looks set to continue in the 2022/23 academic year, with a record total of 140,000 applications received from 70 countries through the Études en France platform, an increase of 18 per cent compared with pre-pandemic levels.

In 2018, the French government launched an international education strategy with a goal of reaching 500,000 international students by 2027 and introduced tuition fees for non-EU students, although at a relatively low level compared with major English-speaking study destinations.