International students do not only study in our country: through their expenses, they also constitute a financial windfall, the amount of which amounts to 5 billion euros over one year, according to a study unveiled Monday, November 28 by Campus France, State agency for the promotion of French higher education abroad, carried out on a panel of 9,992 students, in partnership with the Kantar Public Institute.

By subtracting the 3.7 billion in public expenditure devoted to them through housing assistance, scholarships, affiliation to social security and personnel expenditure devoted to cultural diplomacy and influence, we obtains a net economic impact of this category of students equal to 1.35 billion euros.

In total, there are 400,000 foreign students in France: 100,000 were already enrolled in secondary education and 300,000 are “internationally mobile” and left their country specifically to study in France. It is on the latter only that the unprecedented survey conducted by Campus France.

On average, they spend 867 euros per month: 48% of the budget is intended for rent, 21% for daily living costs (food, clothing) and 8% for social and leisure activities. They pay, on average, 2,822 euros in tuition fees, knowing that 41% of respondents benefited from a fee exemption, total or partial. Tuition fees thus generated 873 million euros in revenue for French establishments. A large majority (69%) of international students are enrolled in university, 13% in business school and 8% in engineering school.

Shortfall due to Covid

Other sectors benefit from their stay in France. The survey shows that 38% of respondents received visits from relatives for an average of 23 days, i.e. “tourist recipe” valued at 392 million euros. If we add to this expenditure on rail, air and road transport using French companies, which amounts to 1,692 euros over almost eleven months of presence on French territory, the revenue is 461 million euros. .

A quarter of the respondents took French lessons before or during their stay in France, 58% in French institutions, which constitutes more than 73 million euros generated. In addition, 20% indicated having had several jobs in France during their study stay, and 28% only one job, ie a contribution in social contributions, for the State, equivalent to 375 million euros. The survey also includes other revenue, linked in particular to administrative procedures and visas, for a total generated of nearly 35 million euros.

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