This page compares the education systems of France and China.
Education System Overview
| Category | France | China |
|---|---|---|
| System Type | Public-private mix; Governance model: Centralized, with national rules for curricula, qualifications and teacher recruitment, while regions, departments and municipalities manage responsibilities such as buildings, equipment and local services. [French Ministry] | Public/private mix; governance is centralized at the national policy level, with provincial and local education authorities responsible for implementation and administration. |
| Governing Body | Ministry of National Education for school education and the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Space for tertiary education. | Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China (MOE), together with provincial and local education authorities. [China MOE] |
| Government Expenditure on Education (% of GDP) | 5.32% of GDP (2022, latest available value for general government expenditure on education). [World Bank] | National fiscal expenditure on education was 4.02% of GDP in 2024. [China MOE] |
Education Structure & Compulsory Schooling
| Category | France | China |
|---|---|---|
| Compulsory Age Range | From age 3 to age 16. A separate training obligation applies from ages 16 to 18 and can be fulfilled through schooling, vocational training, employment, civic service or an approved support pathway. [Éduscol] | Children normally begin compulsory education at age 6; local authorities may permit enrollment at age 7 where conditions require it. The nine-year compulsory cycle normally continues to about age 15. [China MOE] |
| Total Compulsory Duration (Years) | 13 years of compulsory instruction (ages 3–16), followed by the separate training obligation through age 18. | 9 years of compulsory education, generally six years of primary school followed by three years of junior secondary school. [China MOE] |
| Pre-primary Education (ECE) Access | Compulsory from age 3. In 2024, the schooling rate was 98.5% at age 3 and 100% at ages 4 and 5. [French Ministry] | Optional before compulsory schooling; the national gross pre-primary enrollment rate reached 92.9% in 2025. [China MOE] |
| Primary + Secondary Education Structure (Years) | 5 + 4 + 3 (Primary + Lower Secondary/Collège + Upper Secondary/Lycée). Pre-primary education normally adds three years before primary school. [French Ministry] | 6 + 3 + 3: six years of primary education, three years of junior secondary education and three years of senior secondary education. |
| Vocational vs. General Upper Secondary Split (%) | Approximately 29.3% Vocational / 70.7% General & Technological among lycée students in 2025, based on 661,600 vocational and 1,599,400 general and technological students. [French Ministry] | Approximately 26.9% vocational / 73.1% general in 2025, based on 11.19 million secondary vocational students and 30.40 million regular senior-secondary students. [China MOE] |
Academic Calendar & Instruction Time
| Category | France | China |
|---|---|---|
| Academic Year Start (Typical Month) | September. [French Ministry] | September |
| Academic Year End (Typical Month) | July. [French Ministry] | July |
| Instruction Weeks per Year | 36 weeks. [Légifrance] | Compulsory education typically includes 35 teaching weeks plus two weeks available for school-arranged activities; regular senior-secondary programs generally provide about 40 teaching weeks plus a social-practice week. |
| Instruction Days per Year | — | — |
Grading System
| Category | France | China |
|---|---|---|
| Primary/Secondary Grading Scale | The 0–20 scale is widely used in secondary education, while competency-based assessment is also used, particularly during compulsory schooling. | No single national grading scale applies to all school assessments. Numerical scores, achievement levels and letter-based systems are used according to examination, province and school level. |
| Higher Education Grading Scale | Commonly 0–20, with 10/20 generally representing a passing mark; higher education programs use ECTS credits within the LMD degree structure. [Campus France] | Institution-specific; universities commonly use percentage scores and GPA or letter-grade conversions, but there is no single national GPA scale. |
Language of Instruction
| Category | France | China |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Instruction Languages (K–12) | French | Standard Chinese (Putonghua/Mandarin) is the principal language of instruction in most schools. |
| Other Official / Minority Instruction Languages (K–12) | Regional languages can be taught through bilingual or specialized programs, including Breton, Basque, Catalan, Corsican, Occitan and regional Germanic languages. | Minority languages are used alongside or instead of Standard Chinese in some ethnic autonomous areas and bilingual education programs. English is widely taught as a foreign-language subject. |
School Provision & Access (K–12)
| Category | France | China |
|---|---|---|
| Public School Enrollment Share (K–12, % of Students) | 86.4% in primary education and 78.8% in secondary education in 2025. [French Ministry] | Based on official 2024 enrollment totals, approximately 93.1% of compulsory-education students and 79.9% of regular senior-secondary students were outside the non-government school sector. [China MOE] [China MOE] |
| Public School Tuition Fee (Annual, Local Currency) | $0 tuition. Public primary and secondary education is tuition-free. [French Ministry] | $0 tuition and miscellaneous fees during the nine-year compulsory education period. [China MOE] |
| Public Schools Nationwide Availability | Yes, with public primary and secondary education provided nationwide. | Yes; the state guarantees compulsory education for school-age children and adolescents nationwide. [China MOE] |
| Private School Enrollment Share (K–12, % of Students) | Approximately 13.6% in primary education and 21.2% in secondary education in 2025. [French Ministry] | In 2024, non-government schools enrolled approximately 6.9% of compulsory-education students and 20.1% of regular senior-secondary students. [China MOE] |
| Private Schools (Geographic Concentration) | — | — |
International Schools (K–12)
| Category | France | China |
|---|---|---|
| Number of International Schools (Total) | — | — |
| Number of IB World Schools | — | 322 IB World Schools currently offer at least one IB programme in China. [IB] |
| Main International Programmes Offered | International Baccalaureate, International Sections, Cambridge programs and American-style curricula, depending on the school. The IB currently lists French schools offering PYP, MYP, DP and CP programs. [IB] | International Baccalaureate (IB), Cambridge International/A Levels and Advanced Placement (AP), depending on the school. |
Resources & Learning Environment (K–12)
| Category | France | China |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Teacher Qualification (Public Schools) | From the 2026 recruitment session, the main external teacher recruitment competitions opened at Bachelor’s level (bac+3), followed by two years of paid initial training. Transitional bac+5 competitions continue through 2027 for candidates already following the previous route. [French Ministry] | A recognized teacher qualification is required. Statutory minimum academic requirements vary by level: primary teachers require secondary normal-school education or above; junior-secondary teachers require higher normal-college or other two- to three-year college education or above; senior-secondary teachers require a four-year normal-college or university education or above. [China MOE] |
| Average Class Size (Primary) | 21.1 students in elementary classes (2025). [French Ministry] | Approximately 38.7 students per class in 2025, based on 101.78 million primary students and 2.63 million classes. [China MOE] |
| Average Class Size (Lower Secondary) | 25.7 students in collège classes (2025). [French Ministry] | Approximately 46.4 students per class in 2025, based on 55.09 million junior-secondary students and 1.19 million classes. [China MOE] |
| Average Class Size (Upper Secondary) | 30.2 students in general and technological lycée classes / 18.4 students in vocational lycée classes (2025). [French Ministry] | Approximately 48.5 students per regular senior-secondary class in 2024, based on 29.22 million students and 602,532 classes. [China MOE] [China MOE] |
System Performance & Learning Outcomes (OECD/PISA)
| Category | France | China |
|---|---|---|
| PISA Participation Years | 2000, 2003, 2006, 2009, 2012, 2015, 2018, 2022, 2025. [OECD] | 2009, 2012, 2015, 2018, 2025. Participation represented regional Chinese cohorts rather than a national sample; Shanghai participated in 2009 and 2012, the 2015 cohort covered Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu and Guangdong, and the 2018 and 2025 cohorts covered Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang (B-S-J-Z). [OECD] |
| PISA 2018 Scores (Mathematics / Reading / Science) | 495 / 493 / 493. [OECD] | 591 / 555 / 590 for B-S-J-Z (China). [OECD] |
| PISA 2022 Scores (Mathematics / Reading / Science) | 474 / 474 / 487. [OECD] | — |
| PISA 2025 Scores (Mathematics / Reading / Science) | 458 / 456 / 483. France performed close to the OECD averages of 463 in mathematics, 461 in reading and 482 in science. [OECD] | 612 / 527 / 597 for B-S-J-Z (China). [OECD] |
| PISA Performance Trend 2000–2025 | France’s 2025 results were lower than in 2022 in mathematics and reading and about the same in science. The 2025 results were among France’s lowest PISA results across all three domains and were below the levels recorded in 2015. [OECD] | Direct comparison of the full B-S-J-Z cohort is available from 2018. Between 2018 and 2025, mathematics performance was higher, reading was lower, and science was about the same. Earlier Chinese PISA cycles used different regional samples and should not be treated as one national time series. [OECD] |
| Strongest Subject Area (PISA 2025) | Science (Score: 483), followed by mathematics at 458 and reading at 456. [OECD] | Mathematics — 612 points for B-S-J-Z (China). [OECD] |
Higher Education System
| Category | France | China |
|---|---|---|
| Number of Higher Education Institutions (Total) | More than 3,500 public and private higher education institutions. [Campus France] | 3,167 higher education institutions in 2025, excluding 234 research institutes authorized to train postgraduate students. [China MOE] |
| Number of Universities (Research Universities) | 78 universities and communities of institutions. [Campus France] | — |
| Number of Universities of Applied Sciences / Colleges | — | 87 vocational undergraduate institutions and 1,554 higher vocational/junior colleges in 2025. [China MOE] |
| Main Institution Types | Universities; Grandes Écoles; engineering schools; business and management schools; art and architecture schools; specialized institutions; IUT and STS programs. | Regular undergraduate institutions, vocational undergraduate institutions, higher vocational/junior colleges and adult higher education institutions. [China MOE] |
| Tertiary Enrollment Share by Ownership | — | Among regular and vocational undergraduate/short-cycle students in 2025, 27.04% were enrolled in private institutions and approximately 72.96% in non-private institutions. [China MOE] |
| English-Taught Degree Programmes (Bachelor + Master, Total) | More than 1,600 programs taught in English. [Campus France] | — |
| Share of Tertiary Programmes Taught in National Languages (%) | — | — |
| Share of Tertiary Programmes Taught in English (%) | — | — |
| Main Global Ranking Used | Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) 2026. [Campus France] | QS World University Rankings 2027. [QS] |
| Universities in Top 100 (Selected Ranking) | 4 in ARWU 2026: Paris-Saclay University, PSL University, Sorbonne University and Université Paris Cité. [Campus France] | 6 mainland Chinese universities in QS 2027: Peking University (#13), Tsinghua University (#14), Fudan University (#26), Shanghai Jiao Tong University (#36), Zhejiang University (#47) and Nanjing University (#=90). [QS] |
| Universities in Top 500 (Selected Ranking) | 17 in ARWU 2026, including the four institutions in the Top 100 and 13 additional institutions ranked from 101 to 500. [Campus France] | 38 mainland Chinese institutions in QS 2027. [QS] |
| Universities in Top 1000 (Selected Ranking) | 27 in ARWU 2026. [Campus France] | 64 mainland Chinese institutions in QS 2027. [QS] |
| National Accreditation / QA Agency (Higher Education) | Hcéres (High Council for Evaluation of Research and Higher Education), which evaluates higher education institutions, programs and research units. [Hcéres] | Higher Education Evaluation Center, Ministry of Education (HEEC), operating as an affiliated institution of the Ministry of Education. [China MOE] |
| International Students (Total) | 443,500 foreign students were enrolled in French higher education in 2024/25. [Campus France] | 271,064 international students were enrolled in Chinese higher education institutions in 2024. [China MOE] |
| International Students Share of Total Tertiary Enrollment (%) | Approximately 15% in 2024/25. [Campus France] | — |
Education Costs (Indicative)
| Category | France | China |
|---|---|---|
| Public University Tuition Fees – Domestic / Regional (Annual, Local Currency) | Approximately $210–$740 per year for standard public Bachelor’s, Master’s and engineering registration fees in 2026/27; some institutions and programs charge different amounts. [Campus France] | — |
| Public University Tuition Fees – International / Non-EU (Annual, Local Currency) | Approximately $3,400–$4,700 per year for differentiated Bachelor’s and Master’s fees in 2026/27 at institutions applying the national fee schedule; exemptions and lower fees apply in some cases. [Campus France] | — |
| Typical Tuition Fees for English-Taught Programmes (Annual, Local Currency) | — | — |
| Language School Costs (Monthly, Local Currency) | — | — |
Major Education Updates & Policy Changes
| Category | France | China |
|---|---|---|
| 2000–2010: Key Updates & Reforms | ||
| 2010–2020: Key Updates & Reforms | ||
| 2020–2024: Key Updates & Reforms | ||
| 2025–2026: Key Updates & Reforms |
General Overview (Narrative)
| Category | France | China |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | France operates a centralized education system with national curricula, qualifications and teacher recruitment alongside local responsibility for school facilities and services. Compulsory instruction runs from age 3 to 16, followed by a training obligation through age 18. Primary and secondary education follow a 5+4+3 structure, with upper secondary students choosing general, technological or vocational pathways. Most students attend public schools, which are tuition-free. In PISA 2025, France scored 458 in mathematics, 456 in reading and 483 in science; mathematics and reading were lower than in 2022, while science was about the same. Higher education includes more than 3,500 institutions, including universities, Grandes Écoles, engineering schools, business schools and specialized institutions. France had 443,500 foreign students in higher education in 2024/25. Current changes include bac+3 teacher recruitment from the 2026 session, the first early mathematics examination for the baccalauréat in June 2026, and new mathematics programs introduced for seconde and première in the 2026/27 school year. | China operates a centrally directed education system with provincial and local authorities managing implementation. The standard school structure consists of six years of primary education, three years of junior secondary education and three years of senior secondary education. The first nine years are compulsory and tuition-free. Pre-primary participation reached a gross enrollment rate of 92.9% in 2025, while senior-secondary students were divided between general and vocational routes. Public provision accounts for most school enrollment, although non-government schools operate at compulsory and upper-secondary levels. China's PISA results represent participating regions rather than a national sample. In PISA 2025, Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang (B-S-J-Z) scored 612 in mathematics, 527 in reading and 597 in science. The higher-education system contained 3,167 institutions in 2025, including regular undergraduate institutions, vocational universities and higher vocational colleges. Official 2024 statistics recorded 271,064 international students. Current changes include the Preschool Education Law, one year of free preschool education introduced in 2025 and the 2026 AI + Education Action Plan. |