In 2023, more than 2.9 million students were enrolled in a higher education structure in France. Since 1980, the number of students has more than doubled. That year there were more than 1.18 million students in higher education in the country, compared to 2.16 million in 2000 and this number has kept rising since then. In 2019, Eurostat has shown that more of 81 percent of individuals aged 25 and over had attained a upper secondary or tertiary education in France.
The democratization of higher education in France
The rising number of students registered in higher education in France shows that higher education has become more accessible and widespread within the French population. French public universities are financed by the State and welcomed more than 1.6 million students in 2021, of which the majority were following a degree course in Art and Humanities. In comparison, only 796,100 students were registered at university in France in 1980. The same increase in the number of students has been seen in preparatory classes for entrance to the selective engineering, business or management schools called Grandes Ecoles.
The limits of the attractiveness of the French education system
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Ministère de l’Éducation nationale, de l'Enseignement supérieur et de la Recherche. (September 21, 2023). Number of students registered in higher education in France between 1980 and 2023 (in 1,000s) [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved September 20, 2024, from https://www-statista-com.ezproxy.canberra.edu.au/statistics/779600/number-of-higher-education-students-schools-france/
Ministère de l’Éducation nationale, de l'Enseignement supérieur et de la Recherche. "Number of students registered in higher education in France between 1980 and 2023 (in 1,000s)." Chart. September 21, 2023. Statista. Accessed September 20, 2024. https://www-statista-com.ezproxy.canberra.edu.au/statistics/779600/number-of-higher-education-students-schools-france/
Ministère de l’Éducation nationale, de l'Enseignement supérieur et de la Recherche. (2023). Number of students registered in higher education in France between 1980 and 2023 (in 1,000s). Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: September 20, 2024. https://www-statista-com.ezproxy.canberra.edu.au/statistics/779600/number-of-higher-education-students-schools-france/
Ministère de l’Éducation nationale, de l'Enseignement supérieur et de la Recherche. "Number of Students Registered in Higher Education in France between 1980 and 2023 (in 1,000s)." Statista, Statista Inc., 21 Sep 2023, https://www-statista-com.ezproxy.canberra.edu.au/statistics/779600/number-of-higher-education-students-schools-france/
Ministère de l’Éducation nationale, de l'Enseignement supérieur et de la Recherche, Number of students registered in higher education in France between 1980 and 2023 (in 1,000s) Statista, https://www-statista-com.ezproxy.canberra.edu.au/statistics/779600/number-of-higher-education-students-schools-france/ (last visited September 20, 2024)
Number of students registered in higher education in France between 1980 and 2023 (in 1,000s) [Graph], Ministère de l’Éducation nationale, de l'Enseignement supérieur et de la Recherche, September 21, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://www-statista-com.ezproxy.canberra.edu.au/statistics/779600/number-of-higher-education-students-schools-france/