UNESCO has revealed that Nigeria ranked as the world’s third-largest source of international students in 2023, accounting for five per cent of global outbound student mobility.
The finding was contained in UNESCO’s first Higher Education Global Trends Report released on Tuesday, May 12, which examined the countries contributing the highest numbers of students studying abroad.
According to the report, nearly half of all international students worldwide originated from just 10 countries. China and India remained the largest contributors, accounting for 37 per cent and 29 per cent of globally mobile students respectively. Nigeria shared third position with Germany, both contributing five per cent. UNESCO said the top 10 countries together accounted for 45 per cent of all outbound student mobility globally in 2023.
The report noted that international student mobility has continued to grow despite disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. UNESCO stated that the number of students studying outside their home countries nearly tripled over the past two decades, increasing from 2.5 million in 2002 to 7.3 million in 2023. The organisation projected that the figure could rise to nine million by 2030.
Despite the rapid growth, UNESCO described international education as still largely elitist, pointing out that fewer than three per cent of higher education students globally have access to academic mobility opportunities abroad.
The report added that factors driving global student mobility include economic conditions, the quality and capacity of domestic universities, visa policies, government support programmes and post-graduation employment opportunities.
UNESCO also noted that governments around the world are increasingly introducing policies aimed at boosting outbound student mobility, with 35 per cent of countries now setting specific targets to increase the number of students studying overseas.
