Record numbers of international students for France in 2024/25

The data released by Campus France shows that there were 432,670 international students at higher education institutions in 2024/25, up from 419,614 in the previous academic year. There were also an additional 10,800 foreign apprentices in the higher education system.

Campus France said that the number of international students has increased by 17 per cent across the last five years, and that overseas students now constitute 15 per cent of the total student population in France, a slight increase over 14 per cent in the previous year.

After an initial post-Covid jump of eight per cent in the 2021/22 academic year, France has settled into a pattern of growth between three and five per cent per year.

Source – Campus France

“Student mobility to France has found its cruising speed, in an uncertain international context,” said Donatienne Hissard, Dean of Campus France.

“There have never been so many mobile students in the world, but their choice of destination is diversifying from a handful of competitors to a wider palette, with a withdrawal underway in the United States, the leading host country. The challenge for Europe and France is to position themselves as an alternative in this unprecedented landscape.”

Source markets: Morocco remained the top source country for French higher education institutions, despite a three per cent decrease to 42,015 students, followed by Algeria with 34,758 – a slight increase of one per cent over the previous year.

The top five was completed by China (26,327 students, – three per cent compared with the previous year); Italy (22,044, +five per cent); and Senegal (17,722, +four per cent).

Among the top 10 source markets, Cameroon had the highest year-on-year growth at 13 per cent.

Across the last five years, the largest growth among top 10 source countries has come from Libya (60 per cent) and Cameroon (+55), while the European markets of Spain (+45) and Italy (+38) have also registered strong increases in the same period.

India is also a growth market for France, with a 17 per cent year-on-year increase to 9,100 students, making it the 11th largest source country. The bilateral Franco-Indian roadmap sets out government plans to boost student mobility and for France to host 30,000 Indian students by 2030.

Looking at regions, Sub-Saharan Africa (+seven per cent), Europe (+five) and Asia-Oceania (+three) all sent more students to France in 2024/25 than in the previous year, with seven per cent growth from the former.

Institutions: Universities hosted 63 per cent of the international students enrolled in 2024/25 and experienced a three per cent increase over the previous year, while business schools (+three per cent) and engineering schools (+four per cent) had similar levels of growth. There was a seven per cent increase for schools of art and architecture.

Over the last five years, business schools have had the highest levels of growth at 52 per cent, followed by lycées (33 per cent) and engineering schools (26).