More Arab students than ever are choosing to study France. Campus France, the French government agency responsible for promoting higher education abroad, has been telling Al-Fanar Media why.
France continues to be a top choice for Arab students because of its high academic standards, open cultural environment, and long-standing university traditions. In addition, Arab students may feel less welcome in the United States and the United Kingdom, where governments have been tightening immigration policies and making it harder for foreign students to enter.
According to the 2025 “Open Doors” report from the Institute of International Education, released this week, the number of international students enrolling in U.S. colleges and universities was down again this year. Enrolments from some Arab countries have experienced sharp declines over multiple years. Saudi Arabia, for example, sent only about 12,700 students to the United States in the 2024–2025 academic year, down from more than 44,400 seven years earlier.
France, meanwhile, is seeing a steady rise in enrolments of Arab students from the Middle East and North Africa. Their numbers reached nearly 116,000 in the 2024–2025 academic year, according to official data from the French Ministry of Higher Education and Campus France. These students make up 27 percent of all international students in France, a 13-percent increase over the past five years.
