France Enrolled More than 430,000 International Students in 2023-2024

France is making a name for itself in the International Education sector. We hear about traditional big names like USA, Canada, UK, Australia, but seldom have heard about France historically. However, on the back of its solid foundations and quality education, France is slowly carving a niche for itself specially in Business and Management programs.

France welcomed 430,000 students in the 2023-2024 timeline, which sees a growth of nearly 5% when compared to last year. When compared to the traditional giants like USA and UK grew at 12%, Canada grew at 29%, while Germany saw an annual growth of 5% for international student influx in 2023. Algeria and Morocco remain the top senders to French Universities, while there is huge upward curve from the Asian giants i.e. India and China, sending 12% and 6% more students compared to last year respectively.

Of all the higher education options in France, universities account for roughly two-thirds of international students, although their growth rate is only 2% annually. In contrast, last year saws an 11% increase in international enrollment at business schools and a 9% increase at engineering schools. Business schools now account for 15% of the total, up from 10% five years ago.

There is a huge interest in the Asia Pacific market for France as well, because of the sheer numbers it can provide. France has the 3rd best returns worldwide when it comes to institutions in the top 50 as per various credible global rankings. It has 18 universities in the top 500 universities of the world, and 25 French universities are present in the top 1000, while University of Paris, Saclay is standing 12th globally. Furthermore, the University of Paris Saclay solidified its status as a national leader by rising to the top of continental Europe. France is also carving a niche for itself in Business and Management programs. France has all the attributes that Indians are particular about, hence we see the upward curve of Indian Students on French shores.

More and more Indian students are searching for study abroad options outside of Canada and the UK. Indian students' reasons and preferences when considering France were examined in a recent QS report; they are increasingly doing so (+12% more in France last year).

According to the QS study, 31% of Indian students are considering studying business and management in France, which is 11% more than the global average. This indicates that business schools are especially appealing to Indian students. While 21% of potential Indian students are interested in undergraduate courses, nearly half are investigating postgraduate programs in France.

Indian students place a high value on positions and reputation: 51% of them stated that a French University's high ranking was significant, when compared to the global median of 33%, and 52% stated that the university must have a positive reputation, equated to the global average of 45%.

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