Ivorian students in France: figures, business schools, buddy schemes and community

Information checked on 6 October 2026.

Many arrive in France for a first year of licence or a business school, far from their family for the first time. Yet Ivorian students in France form a large and growing community: nearly a third more students in five years, a business track that has doubled, and welcome networks that start before departure. This article brings together what the official figures say, the buddy schemes Campus France Côte d'Ivoire points to, the associations we were able to check and how to find your compatriots in your future city. For the admission procedure, start with our Campus France Côte d'Ivoire guide.

Ivorian students in France: the official figures

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

In 2023-2024, Côte d'Ivoire ranks second among sub-Saharan African countries, behind Senegal (16,955) and ahead of Cameroon (10,880). Study visas issued to Ivorians rose sharply before levelling off, according to the French Ministry of the Interior as cited in the sheet:

Business schools: the track that doubled

The community's growth hardly goes through university any more. Here is how Ivorian students were spread in 2024-2025:

Universities remain the majority, but grew by only 6% in five years, while business schools doubled and engineering schools more than doubled. Nearly one Ivorian student in four now attends a business school, against 15% of all foreign students.

At university, the licence (the French bachelor's) dominates: 3,887 students (55%), ahead of the master's (2,827, 40%) and the doctorate (364, 5%). The subjects are also more balanced than among Moroccan, Senegalese or Cameroonian students, according to sheets from the same series: sciences and health (2,139), economics and AES (1,868), arts, languages and humanities (1,606), law and political science (1,465). Law and economics together account for almost half of those enrolled.

This profile has a concrete consequence: many Ivorian students arrive young, in first or second year, without a network. That is where buddy schemes and the community matter most.

France, the first destination, but not the only one

According to UNESCO data reproduced in the sheet, 18,675 Ivorians were studying abroad in 2023:

UNESCO does not count the way SIES does, hence the gap with the 12,672 students enrolled in France. The trend deserves attention: Canada gained 54% more Ivorian students between 2020 and 2023. If you are hesitating between several countries, those who went there can tell you what the brochures leave out.

The settled diaspora offers solid support: according to the UN (International Migrant Stock 2024), 169,206 migrants from Côte d'Ivoire live in France. This figure counts people born in Côte d'Ivoire, not their children born locally.

Buddy schemes: what Campus France Côte d'Ivoire points to

Campus France Côte d'Ivoire welcomes applicants at its Abidjan Espace, in Cocody-Danga, and at its Bouaké branch. On its page about daily life in France, it highlights two buddy schemes, to activate before you arrive:

A local buddy and a community of compatriots do not play the same role. The first knows the campus and the city; the second knows what you are going through, from the first winter to the calls home. The ideal is to have both.

Ivorian student associations

Ivorian associations mostly exist at city or regional level. Two checked examples:

In other cities, a search for « étudiants ivoiriens » in the Journal officiel des associations (the French official register of associations) often gives results, but check that they are still active. Our guide to African student associations in France explains how to search and what to do if nothing exists in your city.

7 August, Independence Day in the diaspora

On 7 August, Côte d'Ivoire celebrates its independence, gained in 1960. The date falls in the middle of the university holidays: many students are then working to fund the next year, others have gone home. Celebrations in France mainly gather settled families, young professionals and students who stayed, which makes them a good chance for a newcomer to meet the diaspora beyond campus.

On Compatri, the Ivory Coast Independence Day page gathers the celebrations published in the diaspora. If nothing is planned in your city, maybe you are the one to start the first.

Mutual aid between Ivorian students, day to day

For the full list of steps on arrival, follow our guide to the first month of an international student in France.

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 Ivorian community in your future city brings together students, young professionals and settled families, who post meetups and welcome newcomers. You will find it from the Ivorian 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 Côte d'Ivoire, France-Visas and service-public.gouv.fr.

Official sources

• Campus France: Chiffres clés 2025 press release, annex on countries of origin (PDF)
• Campus France: Côte d'Ivoire mobility sheet, October 2025 (PDF)
• Campus France Côte d'Ivoire: daily life in France
• Campus France Côte d'Ivoire: the Abidjan Espace and the Bouaké branch
• Toulouse Métropole: Association des Ivoiriens de Toulouse et de l'Occitanie
• UN DESA: International Migrant Stock 2024