Moroccan Children in France Achieve Higher Education Success

Children of Moroccans settled in France are increasingly pursuing higher education. Annual INSEE data on the education level of immigrants and descendants of immigrants show that descendants of immigrants from Morocco or Tunisia stand out through their strong presence in higher education.

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According to INSEE, in 2024, 26.3% of descendants of immigrants from Morocco or Tunisia who have completed their initial studies hold a diploma higher than bac +2. To this can be added 13.2% holding a bac +2. In total, nearly four out of ten have therefore reached at least bac +2 level. The institute notes, however, that this statistical category groups Morocco and Tunisia together, without distinguishing between the two countries in this table.

Progress between generations

This evolution confirms a broader trend observed by INSEE: education level progresses strongly between immigrants and their descendants. In a study devoted to immigrants and descendants of immigrants, the institute emphasizes that descendants of immigrants now have education levels close to those of the population without direct migration ancestry. Among 30-64 year-olds, 38% of descendants of immigrants hold a higher education diploma, compared to 41% for people who are neither immigrants nor descendants of immigrants.

The gap is even more visible across generations. According to INSEE, 47% of descendants of immigrants aged 30 to 39 are higher education graduates, compared to 28% of those aged 50 to 64. The institute also notes that more than seven out of ten descendants of two immigrants have a higher diploma than that of their parents.

Success that does not erase all inequalities

This educational progress does not mean that all obstacles have disappeared. Descendants of immigrants from the Maghreb remain, on average, somewhat less often higher education graduates than certain other origin groups, despite a younger population. But the figures show a profound transformation: in many Moroccan families in France, children have reached a level of education that their parents, who arrived in a different migration and social context, often could not obtain.

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For Moroccan families in France, these data therefore reflect an important reality: school and university have become a powerful lever for social advancement. Even if access to employment, discrimination, and professional downgrading remain sensitive issues, the increase in education levels marks a major evolution within the second generation.