Cameroonian students in France: a fast-growing, bilingual community drawn to the grandes écoles

Information checked on 6 October 2026.

In five years, their number has jumped by more than half. Cameroonian students in France now form one of the most dynamic African student communities in the country, with a profile the figures make very clear: fewer universities, many business and engineering schools, a majority at master's level. They also come from a bilingual country, where some students did all their schooling in English. This article sums up the official data, the associations we were able to check, 20 May, and how to find your compatriots before you even arrive. For the admission procedure itself, start with our Campus France Cameroon guide.

Cameroonian students in France: how many are there?

Campus France (the French public agency for international students) publishes two series of figures, both drawn from SIES, the statistics department of the French Ministry of Higher Education:

In 2023-2024, Cameroon ranks behind Senegal (16,955) and Côte d'Ivoire (11,772), but its five-year growth outpaces both. Study visas issued to Cameroonians follow the same slope, according to the French Ministry of the Interior as cited in the sheet:

In practice, every academic year brings several thousand newcomers. Good news for those arriving: in most large university cities, someone went through it last year.

Business and engineering schools: a distinctive profile

The most striking feature of the community is the type of institution. In 2024-2025:

For all foreign students, Campus France counts 63% enrolled at university: among Cameroonians, it is 43%. Almost one in two studies at a business or engineering school, and both categories have more than doubled in five years. At university, the master's level dominates (2,882 students, 55%), ahead of the licence, the French bachelor's (2,032, 39%), and the doctorate (321, 6%). Sciences and health account for 3,047 of the 5,235 enrolled, ahead of economics and AES (927), arts, languages and humanities (768) and law (493).

This profile has a practical consequence: many school programmes run as alternance (work-study) or include long internships, and the questions that keep coming up in the community are as much about the company as about the university. Our article on work-study for international students explains what the student residence permit allows.

Germany, France, Belgium: the Cameroonian student triangle

Another particularity: for Cameroonian students, France is not the first destination. According to UNESCO data reproduced in the mobility sheet, 33,755 Cameroonians were studying abroad in 2023:

UNESCO does not count the way SIES does, hence the gap with the 12,291 students enrolled in France. The order still says something useful: Cameroonian students are spread across several European countries, and a network that stopped at the French border would leave a large share of them out. According to the UN (International Migrant Stock 2024), 127,995 migrants from Cameroon live in France and 30,634 in Belgium; these figures count people born in Cameroon, not their children born locally. The Cameroonians in Belgium page shows the communities already active across the border.

French speakers and English speakers: Cameroonian bilingualism in France

Cameroon's Constitution makes English and French two official languages of equal value. Some students therefore arrive with an entirely English-language schooling. Three pointers:

Francophone students, for their part, often have an asset with international companies: their English. In a community that mixes both, everyone brings something.

Cameroonian student associations

Campus France Cameroon does not publish a list of associations, but official city directories do list some. Two checked examples:

The France Alumni Cameroun network, to which Campus France Cameroon refers, brings together former students who studied in France. To find an association in another city, our guide to African student associations in France explains how to search the Journal officiel and the signs that show an association is still alive.

20 May, National Day in the diaspora

On 20 May, Cameroon celebrates its National Day, commemorating the birth of the unitary state in 1972. In France, the date falls right at the end of the semester, between revision and exams: celebrations organised by associations and communities often take place on a nearby weekend. It is also a moment when anglophone and francophone students sit down at the same table.

On Compatri, the Cameroon National Day page gathers the celebrations published in the diaspora by members and associations. If nothing is planned in your city, propose one to your community.

Mutual aid between Cameroonian students, day to day

The first weeks are packed with formalities. Students who arrived the year before know what gets stuck:

Before you leave: three reflexes

Finding your compatriots with Compatri

This is exactly what Compatri is for: finding people from your country of origin in the city where you live. The Cameroonian community in your future city brings together students, young professionals and settled families, francophone and anglophone, who post meetups and welcome newcomers. You will find it from the Cameroonian diaspora in France page, and you can join it even before you leave, as our guide on how to join your community before you leave explains. The « Étudiants africains » (African students) group, open beyond a single city, completes this network for questions on grants, housing and mutual aid between campuses.

Compatri is not a service of Campus France or of the State, and does not replace the official source: for your formalities, refer to Campus France Cameroon, France-Visas and service-public.gouv.fr.

Official sources

• Campus France: Chiffres clés 2025 press release, annex on countries of origin (PDF)
• Campus France: Cameroon mobility sheet, October 2025 (PDF)
• Campus France Cameroon: procedures and formalities on arrival
• Campus France: catalogue of programmes taught in English
• Nantes Métropole: Association camerounaise des stagiaires et étudiants de Nantes
• Presidency of the Republic of Cameroon: the Constitution