Nigerian postgraduate enrolment in the UK went from 8,170 to 62,630 in three years, then lost 53% of that peak in two

Key Takeaways

  • 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.

The number of Nigerians enrolled in UK higher education fell by a third in one year, from 57,580 in 2023/24 to 38,040 in 2024/25. Postgraduate study accounts for 96% of that drop of 19,540, while first-degree numbers fell 4.5%.

The postgraduate decline comes after a rise from 8,170 in 2019/20 to 62,630 in 2022/23, and at 29,375 the current figure is still 3.6x the 2019/20 level.

The UK's international student total fell 6.3% to 685,565 over the same year, with India down 20,365 while Nepal nearly doubled from 12,755 to 24,435, moving from 8th to 5th as Nigeria slipped from 3rd to 4th.

The timing coincides with the January 2024 ban on dependants for most postgraduate taught students and the naira's devaluation.

Source:

Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA

Period:

2012/13-2024/25
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