Number of people from sub-Saharan Africa, West Africa, and Nigeria who studied in the US between 2001 and 2020

The number of people from sub-Saharan Africa studying in the US was highest in 2020 — 41,697. Here is the trend of sub-Saharan African, West African, and Nigerian students in the US from 2001 to 2020.

Source:

Open Doors Data

Period:

2001 - 2020
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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.
  • The country remains a pivotal actor in building transcontinental academic bridges and contributing to global knowledge exchange.
  • 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
  • 446 Ghanaian scholars are in the US as of the 2023/24 academic session, making up 9.5% of the total number of African scholars in the US.
  • In the 2000/01 academic session, Ghana was the 7th leading source of African scholars with only 75 Ghanaian scholars in the US.
  • Nearly 1 in African scholars in the US is a Ghanaian.
  • Ghana scholarly population in the US have grown by 497%.
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.
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
2025 sees unprecedented surge as 17,000 candidates score above 300 in JAMB; highest in 13 years
  • No candidate scored above 300 until 2015, with just 40 high scorers that year out of over 1.46 million candidates.
  • 2025 marked the highest ever with 17,025 candidates scoring above 300, nearly double the count in 2024 and more than triple 2023.
  • From 2022 to 2025, above-300 scorers consistently remained over 5,000 each year, showing a steady rise in top scores.
  • Despite the growth in numbers of JAMB candidates, high scorers still make up less than 1% annually.
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