Nearly one-third of the 57.5k African students in US higher institutions for the 2022/23 academic year are from Nigeria

Out of the 57.5k African students enrolled in US higher institutions for the 2022/23 academic year, nearly one-third — 17.6k (30.7%) — are from Nigeria. The numbers have steadily risen from 3.8k in the 2000/01 academic year.

Source:

Institute of International Education

Period:

2000 - 2023
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Children’s reading skills in Nigeria: 16 of 18 jurisdictions beating Nigeria's reading average are in the south
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  • Eighteen of 37 areas exceeded the national average.
  • Kwara and the FCT were the only areas outside the three southern zones above the national average.
Egypt has been the leading source of African scholars in the US in the last 24 years, with 942 recorded in the 2023/24 academic session
  • Egypt has been the lead source of African scholars in the US in the last 24 years.
  • Of the African scholars in the US as of the 2023/24 academic session, 20% were Egyptians.
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  • Egypt’s visibility in the US scholarly ecosystem reinforces its role as a regional academic hub.
Ghana accounted for 446 scholars in the US in 2023/24, representing 9.5% of all African scholars there
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  • In the 2000/01 academic session, Ghana was the 7th leading source of African scholars with only 75 Ghanaian scholars in the US.
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Egypt and Nigeria were Africa’s leading sources of international scholars in the US in 2023/24
  • Egypt remained the lead African country with the highest number of international scholars in the US, with 942 recorded in the 2023/2024 academic session.
  • As of the 2023/2024 academic session, 4,679 international scholars in the United States of America are from Africa.
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  • Africa produced 4.2% of the international scholars in the US for the session under review.
Nigerian scholars in the US nearly quadruple in two decades, rising from 176 in 2000/01 to 931 in 2023/24
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  • Approximately 20% of the African scholars in the US are Nigerians.
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