Foreign students up 4.5% in French tertiary institutions, figures reveal

By Claudia Civinini. There were 343,400 foreign students in the French higher education system, signalling a growth of 4.5% since 2016 according to figures released by the Ministry of Education.
The number of foreign students in tertiary education in France has grown 18% since 2012 and almost doubled between 2000 and 2017, the ministry document states.
In general, international students prefer literary disciplines (31.3%), followed by the sciences (29.1%) and economics (17.8%). Students from Africa show a slightly different trend, with most oriented towards the sciences (35.5%). 
As for the future, Bonaventure said Campus France is planning on welcoming more students coming from Francophone countries, especially in Africa, and further promoting France as a study destination in non-Francophone countries, such as China, Vietnam, India, Brazil and African and Middle Eastern countries. More...