France Hosted 412000 International Students in 2022-2023 with Steady Growth

France was home to 412,000 international students in the academic year 2022-2023, as per the data released by Campus France. The figure reflects a 3% growth from the last year and a 17% growth in international students over the last five years, which is sustainable when compared to other countries like Canada (63% growth in the last 5 years) and the UK (43% growth in the last 5 years).

The primary sending regions for French Universities were North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Europe. From 2017 to 2022, Morocco and Algeria were top senders, followed by China, Italy, and Senegal. Twenty-one of the top twenty-five international students contingents are growing in 2022–2023, with the numbers of students from Italy, Spain, Lebanon, Congo, and India rising at very rapid rates. In addition, the proportion of Ukrainian pupils has increased by 111% in just a single year, a rise associated with the ongoing conflict.

Morocco +13%over a total of 45,160, +5% to 32,145; Algeria -15% for 25,605; Italy +50% for an overall increase of 20,030; +39% of students from Senegal to 15,250;+11% for Tunisia to 14,290;  an increase of 48%  in Spain to11,595; +103% in Lebanon to 11,530, +32% in Cote d'Ivoire to 10,690, and +42%in Cameroon to 9,765.

Due to the sheer volume of data it can offer, France is also very interested in the market for Asia-Pacific. According to several reliable international rankings, France has the third-best returns among institutions in the best 50 globally. While the University of Paris, Saclay is ranked 12th in the world, it boasts 18universities in the top 500. In business and leadership courses, France is also making a name for itself. The increasing number of Indian students studying in France is a result of France having all the qualities that Indians value.

France has already created a stable market for international attractions in the African region, now on the back of solid courses in Business and Management if it is able to create a share of Asian students, with the quality of education and opportunities it has on offers, it could very well compete with the traditional ‘big four’ in the study abroad market.

Let's just say that the number of international students studying in France has been growing slowly. Because of its more moderate growth curve, it might be able to avoid the boomerang-style policies that Australia, Canada, and the UK implemented in 2023 and 2024. These policies were designed to quickly reduce the influx of international students to reduce net migration and relieve pressure on public infrastructure that hasn't kept up with population growth.

Students have been forced to reevaluate their study destinations because of those policies, which have rocked student markets worldwide. France's less robust pace of annualized growth may be a more feasible trend in the near future, given that particular context.