Nigerians spent $1.39 billion (N2.16 trillion) on foreign education in the first half of 2025, a sharp increase compared with the same period in 2024.

The total reflects a 20 per cent rise in dollar terms and a 38 per cent jump in naira, based on an average exchange rate of N1,553.6 per dollar during the period.

The data, drawn from the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Balance of Payments report, underscores the rising wave of educational migration, driven by ongoing challenges in Nigeria’s domestic education system.

The CBN report records no earnings under “Education” in the services trade balance, revealing that even as Nigeria spends heavily to educate its citizens overseas, it draws virtually no foreign students to its own institutions.

This $1.39 billion outflow is the highest first-half spending on foreign education since 2021 and comes despite the sharp depreciation of the naira following the CBN’s FX liberalisation reforms in mid-2023.

Even with improved exchange-rate stability in 2025 compared with the volatility of 2024, Nigerians continued to pursue overseas education in large numbers.

Several structural factors drive this trend, including declining confidence in the quality of local universities, recurring academic staff strikes, deteriorating infrastructure, and overcrowded classrooms.

Moreover, international education is increasingly viewed not only as an academic pursuit but also as a migration pathway, particularly for middle- and upper-class families seeking better long-term prospects for their children.

From 2020 to the first half of 2025, Nigerians spent an estimated $11.1 billion (N9.9 trillion) on foreign education, based on Central Bank of Nigeria data.

This figure amounts to roughly 2.6 per cent of Nigeria’s annual nominal GDP over the period and, in many instances, surpasses the combined education budgets of both federal and state governments.

For context, the Federal Government earmarked N2.52 trillion for education in the 2025 national budget—about 5% of total public spending.

This remains well below UNESCO’s recommended benchmark of 15–20 per cent of government expenditure on education.

By contrast, Nigerian households spent N2.16 trillion on foreign education in just the first half of 2025, an amount almost equal to the government’s entire annual allocation to the sector.

Yet despite these massive education-related capital outflows, Nigeria’s education sector continues to attract very little foreign investment.

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics shows that capital importation into the education sector totaled only $150,000 over the past decade, underscoring the sector’s extremely low investor interest.