Africa: Foreign Education Spending in Nigeria Rises from $2.484 Billion in 2024 to $2.845 Billion in 2025 Up 14.5 Percent Year on Year
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) reported that Nigerians spent $2.845 billion on foreign education-related expenses in 2025, representing a 14.5 percent increase compared to $2.484 billion recorded in 2024, reflecting rising demand for overseas education.
According to vanguardngr, sectoral breakdown shows that despite the slowdown in Q4’25, education-related travel remained the single largest component of foreign travel spending by Nigerians.
READ: Africa: Nigeria’s FX Spending on Education and Medical Tourism Drops 66% to $180m in Q1 2025
In Q1’25 Nigerians spent $592.71 million on foreign education travel, up by 6.0 per cent YoY from $559.16 million in Q1’24.
The figure rose sharply by 33.1 per cent YoY to $800.16 million in Q2’25, from $601.10 million in Q2’24. The upward trend persisted in Q3’25, by another 33.1 per cent YoY increase to $880.17 million in Q3’25, from $661.21 million in Q3’24.
However, spending on education-related travel dropped to $572.11 million in Q4’25, representing a 13.6 per cent decline from the $662.38 million in Q4’24.
