Number of Nigerian students in UK universities grows by 64% within one academic year

NIGERIAN students studying in the UK rose to 21,305 during the course of the 2020/21 academic session from 13,020 in the 2019/20 academic year according to figures just released by the UK’s Higher Education Statistics Agency.

According to the data, the figure, which amounts to an almost 64% increase within a year, is part of a general growth in the number of foreign students in the UK. Apparently, the UK has also witnessed a 13.08% increase in international student enrolment at the post-graduate level between 2019/20 and 2020/21.

Alma Miftari, a representative of Erudera, a higher education search platform, believes that the unprecedented rise in the number of Nigerian students in the UK is due to the prestigious reputation of UK universities, their history, quality education, and the multicultural environment they offer.

She said: “The UK is the second most popular study destination in the world, counting 605,130 international students by the last academic year, the highest it ever had. The reputation of universities such as Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial College London and the UK higher education system continues to engross ambitious people who want to make a bigger impact.”

Right after the UK, the top other countries Nigerians choose are the US, Canada, Malaysia, Ukraine, South Africa, and Germany. However, the UK remains the world’s second most popular study destination among international students, just after the US, with 605,130 international students during the 2020/21 academic session.

Nigeria is the third non-EU country with the most students in the UK with 21,305 students currently enrolled in UK institutions, ahead of the US with 19,220 students. China and India with 143,820 and 84,555 students respectively have the highest number of students in the UK.