The number of Nigerians studying in universities in the US rose significantly by 93 percent to 13,762 in the 10-year period from 2010/11 to 2019/20 academic year, according to Erudera, a higher education search platform.
Erudera, an education search platform backed by Artificial Intelligence, also said the number of these students increased by 28 percent from 2015/16 to 2019/20, while the most drastic increase, by 557 percent, was recorded from 1995/96 to 2019/20.
This increase is attributed to the reputation of US universities, quality education, and the multi-cultural environment they provide, said Gent Ukëhajdaraj from Erudera.
“Nigeria sending high numbers of students in the US for many years now shows the importance that studying in the United States has among these students, and not only, as the United States continues to keep the first spot in hosting more than one million international students from across the world,” Ukëhajdaraj said.
In 2017, Nigeria was ranked as the top source of African students in the United States. Reports have shown that there were 11,710 Nigerian students in the United States that year, an increase of 9.7 percent from 2016.
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During 2018/19, Nigeria listed the 11th place of origin of international students pursuing studies in the United States, accounting for 1.2 percent of the total number of international students in the country.
“We really want more Nigerians to come and take part in our educational system. Through our Education USA Centre in Calabar, we hope to have more students from Cross River going to the US to further their education,” Aruna Amirthanayagam, country public affairs officer, US Embassy, said during a formal opening of the Education USA Centre at the American Space.
Erudera, an AI-backed education search platform, says it’s on a mission to completely change the way students research their university and study programme options using technology, make it easier for them to make decisions based on data and detailed information, and help more students make their dream of studying abroad a reality.
