New figures from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) have placed a harsh spotlight on the country’s persistent educational and economic challenges, revealing that Nigerian citizens spent a record $1.39 billion on foreign education within a six-month period, marking the highest such expenditure since 2021.
According to the CBN’s Balance of Payments report, this sum was spent in the first half of 2025, translating to approximately N2.16 trillion. This represents a notable escalation from the previous year, showing a 20 percent rise in dollar terms and a 38 percent increase when calculated in Naira, based on the average exchange rate of N1,553.6 per dollar during the period.
The significant surge in “education tourism” reflects the continued deterioration of Nigeria’s educational sector, compounded by endemic insecurity and harsh economic realities.
The trend is viewed as particularly disturbing given the massive capital outflow it represents, while, conversely, Nigerian tertiary institutions attract very few, if any, foreign students, failing to generate corresponding foreign exchange inflows. An educationist, Christopher Nmeribe, linked the emigration drive to the country’s declining standards of learning and the hard economic conditions. “Every Nigerian wants to leave the country for even another African country, just to escape the harsh economic challenges,” he noted.
Other experts suggest that the primary motivation for seeking foreign schooling often goes beyond academics. Olusola Kayode, a public servant, indicated that for many, foreign education serves as a “window to realizing their dream life” and a path to migration in search of “greener pastures.”
The scale of the spending is immense when viewed over a longer period. The CBN data reveals that from 2020 through the first half of 2025, Nigeria spent approximately $11.1 billion (N9.9 trillion) on foreign education. This N9.9 trillion figure amounts to about 2.6 percent of Nigeria’s annual nominal GDP over the same timeframe. Crucially, this five-year expenditure on foreign schooling surpasses the entire education budgets allocated by both federal and state governments.
For context, President Bola Tinubu allocated N2.52 trillion to the education sector in the 2025 federal budget, representing only about five percent of the total national budget. The foreign education expenditure therefore highlights a severe financial drain on the country, driven by a lack of confidence in the domestic education system and a widespread desire to emigrate.
