Population of Nigerian students in UK up by 64% in one year

Adebayo Obajemu

The number of Nigerians studying in the United Kingdom (UK) has nearly doubled from 13,020 in the 2019/2020 academic session to 21,305 by the 2020/2021 session.

The figure, which tantamount to an almost 64 per cent increase within a year, is confirmed by data from the UK’s Higher Education Statistics Agency.

The UK has also witnessed a 13.08 per cent increase in the international student enrolment at the postgraduate level between 2019/20 and 2020/21.

The country currently houses 605,130 students in the 2020/2021 session, up from 556,625 in the previous academic session.

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 United States, Canada, Malaysia, Ukraine, South Africa, and Germany.

However, the United Kingdom remained the world’s second most popular study destination among international students, just after the US, with 605,130 international students during the 2020/2021 academic session.