Getting into college is one thing, but leaving with your diploma in hand is another. Moreover, France ranks sadly high among the countries with the highest university failure rate.
In recent years, the decline in educational standards has taken an important place in the public debate. Throughout the media, ministers and national education specialists insist that students are increasingly regressing in essential subjects such as mathematics or French. Primary, middle or high school… All classes seem affected by the phenomenon. But we often forget the biggest in this equation: where are post-baccalaureate students compared to other countries, and in particular compared to our European neighbors?
The French university system is often praised for its great accessibility: almost everyone can be admitted, and admission fees remain very low in comparison with other countries. Moreover, France comes at the top of the countries with the least selective faculties in Europe: 95% of candidates are accepted, according to a study by the Hexagon Observatory published in February 2026. But this apparent equality of opportunity in higher education actually hides an alarming statistic. Because our country ranks sadly high on the list of the highest university failure rates.
In France, 54% of undergraduate students fail to obtain their diploma within four years. It is therefore more than one student in two who does not validate their training, including with a year of repeating, since the license is theoretically completed in three years. However, despite this figure which seems surprisingly high, France is not the worst performer among European countries. In fact, the worst country to succeed at university happens to be Hungary, with a failure rate of 61%. Next comes Austria with 58%, while we close the podium.
Unsurprisingly, it is the candidates who obtained the lowest results in the baccalaureate who fail the most at university: 79% of baccalaureate graduates admitted to resit programs do not validate their license, as do students without honors who fail at 65%. Conversely, the figure drops to only 25% for students who obtained “very good” marks in the baccalaureate. Moreover, it is difficult not to see a link between this university failure rate and the high rate of inactive young people in France: 11% of 18-24 year olds are neither students, nor in training, nor in employment, which places us second in the European ranking, just behind Lithuania which has 14%.
On the other hand, the country with the highest success rate at university seems less surprising: it is the United Kingdom which dominates the ranking, with barely 20% failures. It must be said that there are the prestigious universities of Cambridge and Oxford, which appear in the Top 10 of the best establishments in the world, and which undoubtedly help to raise the average. Then follow Ireland with 26%, and Norway with 32%. Could the secret to succeeding in your studies be to arm yourself with a down jacket and an umbrella?
