Nigeria has emerged as the third-largest source of international students globally, accounting for five per cent of the world’s outbound student mobility in 2023, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s first Higher Education Global Trends Report released on Tuesday.
Outbound student mobility refers to where international students come from. The report shows that nearly half of all students studying abroad in 2023 originated from just 10 countries.
China and India continue to dominate global outbound mobility, contributing 37 per cent and 29 per cent of international students respectively. At the third position, Nigeria is joined by Germany, which also recorded five per cent, while Viet Nam, Uzbekistan, the United States, France, Pakistan, and Nepal each accounted for four per cent.
The top 10 countries accounted for 45 per cent of total outbound student mobility globally in 2023.
UNESCO noted that international student mobility has continued to rise globally despite disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, with the number of internationally mobile students nearly tripling over the last two decades, rising from 2.5 million in 2002 to 7.3 million in 2023. The organisation projected that the figure could reach nine million by 2030.
Despite the increase, UNESCO said less than three per cent of higher education students globally benefit from academic mobility, describing international education as largely elitist, with access to study opportunities abroad remaining limited to a privileged minority.
UNESCO attributed global outbound mobility trends to factors such as macroeconomic conditions, the quality and capacity of domestic higher education systems, government policies, visa regulations, and post-graduation work opportunities. The report also stated that 35 per cent of countries have set explicit targets to increase outbound student mobility.
