ODA Spending

How much ODA does France allocate to education?

France ranks highly in terms of its total spending on global education. However, 57% of France’s education ODA, or US$1.1 billion, consisted of in-country student costs and scholarship costs for students from recipient countries studying in France in 2022. Excluding these costs, France was the fourth-largest donor to education, spending US$842 million in 2022.

How is French educational ODA changing?

How does France allocate educational ODA?

Bilateral Spending

In 2022, 87%, or US$1.7 billion of French ODA for education was provided bilaterally, making it the largest sector of France’s bilateral ODA.

According to the conclusions from the latest French CICID meeting in 2018, within education, France focuses on

• Universal basic education;
• Inclusion of youth in the workforce;
• Women and girls’ empowerment;
• Democratization of higher education, research, and innovation; and
• Support for French culture and promotion of the French language.

Nearly all of the ODA France spent on ‘post-secondary education’ in 2022 (US$1.1 billion) consists of costs associated with students from LICs studying in France. Along with ‘vocational training’, ‘post-secondary education’ is considered important in supporting youth employability and strengthening the economy, a key priority of France’s development policy.

Multilateral Spending and Commitments

In 2022, 14%, or US$269 million, of France's education ODA was disbursed as core contributions to multilateral organizations.

Funding & Policy Outlook

What is the current government's outlook on educational ODA?

President Emmanuel Macron has made education a key priority of his government’s international development policy. France considers global education both a pillar of international development and an instrument of France’s cultural diplomacy in the world. The 2021 Development Law denotes education as a key sectoral priority.

Key Bodies