Canadian permanent resident status: Nigeria's share of issuances dropped to 3.7% in 2023

After growing from 1.5% in 2015 and peaking at 5.1% in 2022, Nigeria's share of Canadian permanent residency status issuances dropped to 3.7% in 2023.

This is Nigeria's share of Canadian permanent residency status issuances since 2015.

Source:

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada

Period:

2015 - 2023
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Nigerian postgraduate enrolment in the UK went from 8,170 to 62,630 in three years, then lost 53% of that peak in two
  • Postgraduate enrolment fell by 19,540 in one year, accounting for 96% of Nigeria’s total decline.
  • Nigerian postgraduate enrolment remained 3.6 times its 2019/20 level despite the recent decline.
  • Nigeria fell from third to fourth among the UK’s largest sources of international students.
  • Nepal nearly doubled its enrolment to 24,435, moving from eighth to fifth.
US non-immigrant visas to Africa: issuances fell across Africa’s top 10, with Tunisia the exception
  • South Africa overtook Nigeria as Africa’s largest source of US non-immigrant visa issuances in 2025, with 62,647 visas.
  • Nigeria’s issuances fell 46.1% to 48,669, down from 90,344 in 2024.
  • US non-immigrant visa issuances to African nationals fell 32.9%, from 539,800 to 362,431.
  • Only three African nationalities recorded increases: Tunisia (+12.5%), Guinea (+12.0%) and Eswatini (+3.2%).
Every region saw B1/B2 visa issuances drop in 2025 — Africa's decline was the steepest of all
  • Africa’s US visa issuances fell 37% in 2025, from 401.8k to 253.2k.
  • Egypt and Nigeria accounted for more than half of Africa’s 148.6k decline.
  • B1/B2 visas accounted for 84% of Africa’s overall decline in issuances.
  • Africa’s decline was significantly steeper than the 20.5% drop recorded in Europe.
These four countries have led African enrolment in US higher education since 2008/09 academic session
  • Ghana recorded the most striking recent growth, reaching 12,825 students in 2024/25.
  • Nigeria remained Africa’s leader with 21,847 students.
  • Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and Egypt have held the top four positions since 2008/09.
  • Their combined share of African enrolment increased from 46.1% to 60.7%.
  • Africa had 73,406 students enrolled in US higher education in 2024/25.
Nearly 89% of UK Study Visa decisions for Africans were approved, compared with 67% for visitor visas
  • The UK made 672,400 visa decisions involving African applicants in 2025.
  • Visitor visas dominated the decisions, accounting for 521,400, or about 78% of the total.
  • Study visas had the highest issue rate, with 88.5% of decisions resulting in issued visas.
  • Visitor visas had a much lower issue rate at 66.5%, despite having the largest decision volume.
  • Work visa decisions had a 71.6% issue rate, below the global work visa average of 86.5%.
  • Other visa routes had the lowest issue rate, with only 53.4% of decisions resulting in issued visas.
Nigerians have spent an estimated $193 million on U.S. visitor visa application fees since 2018
  • Estimated visitor visa fee spending reached $193 million between FY 2018 and FY 2025.
  • Applicants paid the fee whether their visas were approved or refused.
  • Estimated spending peaked at $49.8 million in FY 2018.
  • Spending recovered to $25.1 million in FY 2024 before falling to $23.2 million in FY 2025.
  • The estimates exclude transport, documents, agents, accommodation and other related costs.
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