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.
  • A total of 931 international scholars in the US as of the same session are from Nigeria.
  • Africa produced 4.2% of the international scholars in the US for the session under review.

A total of 4,679 international scholars in the United States of America in the 2023/2024 academic session hailed from Africa. Among these brilliant minds, Egypt remained the lead African country with the highest number of international scholars in US, with 942 recorded. Close behind were Nigeria, with 931, and Ghana with 446 international scholars. Cumulatively, these three countries made up almost 50% of the total number of international scholars from the African continent.

Africa produced 4.2% of the total number of international scholars in the US as of the 2023/2024 academic session, a figure that marked a steady rise from previous years.

As the 2023/2024 session ended, the presence of African scholars in the US could not be overlooked. Egypt and Nigeria led the way, but scholars from over 50 African countries also played their part. The data reflected a growing trend, but the real story lay in the individuals behind the numbers. These scholars were not just guests; they were builders of a shared global academic future.

Source:

IIE Open Doors

Period:

2023/24
HTML code to embed chart
Want a bespoke report?
Reach out
Tags
Related Insights

Nigerian scholars in the US nearly quadruple in two decades, rising from 176 in 2000/01 to 931 in 2023/24
  • Nigeria has been the second leading source of African scholars in the US since 2008/09 to 2023/24, after overtaking South Africa.
  • By the 2023/24 academic session, the number of Nigerian scholars in the US reached 931.
  • Given past trends, it’s not unrealistic to predict that Nigeria could surpass Egypt in the near future, just as it did South Africa.
  • Approximately 20% of the African scholars in the US are Nigerians.

China leads US international scholars with more than 23,000 in 2023/24, nearly 21% of global total
  • China continued to lead globally with the highest number of international scholars in the US, with almost 21% of the international scholars as of 2023/2024.
  • China has been the lead country with the highest number of scholars in the US globally in the last 24 years.
  • India is next after China, with 17,735 scholars in US who hailed from India making up 15.8% of the population.
  • Only 1% of the scholars in the US are from Nigeria

Africa saw its highest net migration gain of 328K people in 1985, followed by net migration losses except in 2020
  • Africa’s largest net migration gain was in 1985, with +328K people.
  • The continent faced its steepest loss in 2010, with -998K.
  • 2020 was a standout year in recent decades with +248K net gain.
  • The 2024 net migration figure of -644K is the third-largest loss since 1955.
  • Despite a partial recovery in 2025 to -378K, losses still outweigh gains.

Immigrants make up nearly 1 in 5 people in Gabon, leading African countries with highest migrant populations
  • Gabon leads with 18.7% of its population being immigrants, the highest in Africa.
  • Equatorial Guinea follows with 16.4%, also driven by oil-related labor demand.
  • Djibouti (12.1%) and Libya (12.0%) round out the top four with migrant shares over 10%.
  • South Africa has the highest immigrant population in Southern Africa at 4.8%.
  • Most African nations still record under 5% immigrant share, indicating modest migration levels continent-wide.

UAE’s population is 88% immigrants as Gabon tops African list with 19% migrant share
  1. The United Arab Emirates tops the list with immigrants making up 88% of its total population.
  2. Qatar follows closely with 87% of its residents being immigrants.
  3. Kuwait (73%) and Bahrain (55%) also feature prominently, showing a regional trend where nationals are a minority and foreign workers form the economic backbone
  4. Middle Eastern dominance in the top rankings highlights how the Gulf region’s economic model is heavily dependent on imported labor and expatriate populations.

42% of Nigeria’s applications have been rejected over the past 15 years amidst surging demand for Schengen visas
  • Nigerians submitted 1.1 million Schengen visa applications between 2009 and 2024.
  • The highest rejection rates occurred in 2017 (53%) and 2019 (51%).
  • A total of 491,844 applications were rejected, a cumulative denial rate of 42.1%.
  • Despite post-pandemic recovery, 2024 recorded the highest applications (111k), with a 45% rejection rate.
  • The year 2010 stands out as the period with the least number of Schengen visa applications submitted by the Nigerian consulate.

POPULAR TOPICS
SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER
Get periodic updates about the African startup space, access to our reports, among others.
Subscribe Here
Subscription Form

A product of Techpoint Africa. All rights reserved