Nigeria set to dethrone India as leading exporter of students to UK schools

Based on recent research compiled by the British Council, Nigeria will soon overtake India to become the second biggest source of international postgraduate students in the United Kingdom.
The council’s research forecasted that UK will have 241,000 postgraduate international students by 2024, maintaining its position as one of the top two destinations for studying a postgraduate abroad, after the United States.
It is also believed that the UK is losing out on Indian students, due to its overdependence on China for its international population. Demographic changes mean India’s appetite for higher education is expanding quickly and providing a source of international postgrad students that the US is exploiting.
China accounts for 44% of growth in the international postgraduate market in the UK, while the figure stands at 33% in the US. More than half (54%) of the US’ international students arrive from India – which, by 2024, will be home to the largest tertiary-aged population, numbering over 119 million.
According to the director of research for British Council education intelligence, Zainab Malik,  “No single market should drive the growth and composition of a country’s incoming postgraduate body. As such, it is essential for institutions and policy-makers to continue to attract students from expanding economies besides China and India, including Nigeria, Indonesia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam.”