A report released on Tuesday by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has revealed that Nigeria is now the world’s third-largest source of international students pursuing higher education abroad.
In its inaugural Higher Education Global Trends Report, UNESCO highlighted that Nigerian international student mobility now accounts for a 5% of the global total, placing the nation on equal footing with Germany and trailing only behind the demographic giants, China and India.
Pan-Atlantic Kompass reports that outbound student mobility in the study 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.
Nigeria ranked the world’s third-largest source of international students and 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.
UNESCO also revealed that the number of students going abroad for higher education has more than tripled over the past two decades, from 2.1 million in 2000 to nearly 7.3 million in 2023. Yet mobility benefits only 3% of the global cohort, with significant regional disparities.
Seven countries (the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, Canada, the Russian Federation, and France) continue to host half of all international students. Countries such as Türkiye and the United Arab Emirates are becoming increasingly popular – with mobility numbers up at least fivefold in the past decade, they now closely trail France.
Top 10 countries for outbound student mobility, 2023 (share of global total)
- China — 37%
- India — 29%
- Nigeria — 5%
- Germany — 5%
- Viet Nam — 4%
- Uzbekistan — 4%
- United States of America — 4%
- France — 4%
- Pakistan — 4%
- Nepal — 4%
UNESCO noted that the top 10 countries accounted for 45 per cent of total outbound student mobility globally in 2023.
The report stated that international student mobility has continued to rise globally despite disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“International student mobility has become a topic of growing importance in the field of higher education, with mobility flows increasing around the world, leading to unprecedented levels of global exchange,” the report said.
According to UNESCO, the number of internationally mobile students 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.
The report described international education as largely elitist, noting that access to study opportunities abroad remains limited to a privileged minority.
“Despite growth expectations, the proportion of higher education students benefiting from academic mobility remains low, just under 3%, underscoring the elitist nature of mobility as still only a privileged few individuals gain access to higher education opportunities abroad,” the report added.
UNESCO also said that women now outnumber men in higher education globally, although inequalities in access and completion rates persist across regions.
According to the report, there were 114 women enrolled in higher education for every 100 men globally in 2024, with gender parity achieved in all regions except sub-Saharan Africa.
“Women now outnumber men in higher education: globally, there were 114 women enrolled in higher education for every 100 men in 2024. Gender parity has been achieved in all regions except sub-Saharan Africa.
“Central and South Asia have made significant progress, moving from 68 women enrolled for every 100 men in 2000 to gender parity in 2023.
“Women remain underrepresented at the doctoral level and hold only about a quarter of leadership positions in academia,” UNESCO said.
The report also showed that the number of students enrolled in higher education worldwide more than doubled over the last two decades, rising from about 100 million in 2000 to 269 million in 2024.
The report, which covered data from 146 countries, revealed significant regional disparities in access to higher education.
While about 80 per cent of young people in Western Europe and North America are enrolled in higher education, the figure stands at 59 per cent in Latin America and the Caribbean, 37 per cent in the Arab States region, 30 per cent in South and West Asia, and only nine per cent in sub-Saharan Africa.
UNESCO Director-General, Khaled El-Enany, said the growing demand for higher education underscored its importance in building sustainable societies.
“This new report highlights the growing demand for higher education, which plays an irreplaceable role in building sustainable societies.
“However, this expansion does not always translate into equal opportunities, underscoring the need to develop innovative funding models to provide quality and inclusive higher education,” he said.
