The number of Nigerian students enrolled in the United States (US) tertiary institutions has increased by 12.3 per cent in the 2021/2022 academic year when compared to the previous 2020/2021 session.
According to the figure released by the United States Diplomatic Mission to Nigeria in its Open Door report, 14,438 Nigerians enrolled for education in the US this year.
The US remains the world’s most popular study destination for international students, closely followed by the United Kingdom.
Last year, the US recorded a slight decline in the number of enrolment from international students, a development linked to the COVID19 vaccination protocols imposed by some of the institutions.
The number of international students in the US dropped from over one million in the 2019/2020 session to about 914,095 last year.
In the 2020/2021 session, 12,860 Nigerian students enrolled in American tertiary institutions. The figure was 6.6 per cent down from 13,762 Nigerian students in the 2019/2020 academic year.
Prior to this decline, the number –which has now rebound– has been on the increase for over ten years.
Slight rebound in 2022
However, the 2022 Open Doors report has revealed a 4 per cent increase in the total number of international students coming into the US for study for the 2021/2022 academic year.
The number of international students attracted by the US this year is 948,000, up from 914,095 last year.
Nigeria is the African country with the highest number of international students in the US with 33 per cent of all African students in the country.
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Nigeria also remained the 10th country with the largest number of international students in the US behind Mexico, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Vietnam, Canada, South Korea, India and China.
Only India surpassed Nigeria in the number of increased enrolment between 2020/2021 and 2021/2022 academic year. While India recorded an 18.9 increase, Nigeria recorded a 12.3 per cent increase.
The number of international students from Saudi Arabia and China dropped by 17 and 8.6 per cent respectively.
Qosim Suleiman is a reporter at Premium Times in partnership with Report for the World, which matches local newsrooms with talented emerging journalists to report on 1-covered issues around the globe
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