Students from Africa remain dominant in French universities

Source : Maina Waruru  25 April 2024

African students constituted nearly half of all foreign students in France in 2023, well ahead of those from the more mobile and populous European and Asian countries, including India and China.

The Africans constituted 47% of the total number of 412,087 foreign students enrolled in French institutions and nearly 7% of all students in the country – a substantial figure, considering that foreign students accounted for 14% of all students in the country’s tertiary institutions in the academic year 2022-23.

The Sub-Saharan African region led with 95,285 students, almost 24% of all the foreign students (412,087) in the country. The 95,285 figure represented an increase of 34% over the past five years.

On the other hand, the North African region had 91,865 students representing 23% of all international students in the European destination, according to the latest statistics by Campus France, the public organisation promoting France as a study destination.

The North African countries led in terms of individual country numbers, with the top four countries of origin for students being Morocco (45,162) and Algeria (32,147) ahead of China and Italy, 

in a trend that has remained unchanged over the past three years.

Other African countries, including Senegal with 15,521 students, Tunisia with 14,291, Ivory Coast with 10,691 and Cameroon with 9,767 students, are ranked in positions five, six, nine and 10 respectively 

in terms of countries where African students in France come from. “Morocco, Algeria and China are still the three main countries of origin of international students in France, and 21 of the top 25 contingents 

of international students are increasing in 2022-23, with a particularly strong rise in the number of Italian, Spanish, Lebanese, Congolese and Indian students,” said Campus France about the released data.