According to a survey by Campus France and Kantar Public institute of approximately 10,000 foreign students studying in France over the previous three years, international students in France spend a lot of money while they are there, specifically contributing close to €5 billion to the French economy.
In order to better understand the financial situation and living circumstances of international students in France as well as to gather data regarding France’s international reputation, the poll was conducted this year between February and April. According to the Campus France research, “the study evaluates the economic impact of their presence in France: their contribution amounts to 5 billion euros for the country, which is a net positive balance of 1.35 billion euros taking into account linked governmental expenditure.” According to statistics, foreign students in France spend €867 per month, of which 48% goes toward housing costs and 21% toward necessities like clothing and food. Additionally, the report notes that students incur tuition costs of €2,822.
Findings show that family and siblings provide the majority of financial support for foreign students in France (77%) while other sources of funding for students include personal savings (48%) and CAF subsidies (46%), as well as paid activities like student jobs (34 percent).
18% of the students who took part in the survey claimed to be scholarship recipients and to have paid for their education using grants from either their home governments or the French government. However, a different group of overseas students claimed that their jobs were the primary source of income. Most respondents (around 48%) who stated they worked during their studies indicated they needed the money from these jobs to pay for their living expenses while they were studying there. According to 60% of respondents, COVID-19 prevented their family from visiting them at the time. Many students said that the pandemic had little effect on how long they stayed in France. This rate is 78% of respondents, according to the poll results.