Market intelligence for international student recruitment from ICEF
18th Jan 2023

New report highlights the increasing competition for international students from Sub-Saharan Africa

Short on time? Here are the highlights:
  • France is the top destination for students from Sub-Saharan Africa, but other destinations such as the US, Canada, Turkey, and Morocco are quickly becoming more popular
  • The tremendous growth in African outbound student mobility is linked to a need to provide higher education to the burgeoning number of college-aged students in the region

A new report from Campus France sheds light on what’s happening in terms of outbound mobility from Sub-Saharan Africa – a region that encompasses Eastern and Western African countries south of the Sahara. These countries include Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe – new hot zones for many educators.

Capacity issues in their domestic higher education systems are the main push factor for Sub-Saharan African students. The college-aged population is expected to double by 2050, and currently only 9% of this cohort is enrolled in higher education. This imbalance, if unchecked, will almost certainly limit economic growth and social development, and could worsen security issues.

France has been a top destination for African students from Sub-Saharan countries for years, and it now enrols about a sixth of all outbound students from the region. But France is facing increased competition as more and more foreign institutions are focusing campaigns and other investments in Africa.

Top destinations and major senders of students

The Campus France report finds that Europe claims the largest share (27%) of the 430,000 Sub-Saharan African students studying abroad. France is the main host (14%), enrolling 92,000 Sub-Saharan students in 2021/22 (at least half of whom are university undergraduates), followed by Germany (18,900) and Portugal (14,900).

Significant volumes of students travel to other African countries (20%) – especially to South Africa – and to North America (15%).

The number of internationally mobile Sub-Saharan African students has grown by 21% over the past five years. This mobility rate is now much higher than that in other world regions: 4.8% versus the 2.7% world average.

Nigeria is the main sender of students to other countries (72,000), followed by Cameroon (27,000), and Zimbabwe (19,000). Campus France finds that Nigerian outbound has declined by 24% since 2015 – in contrast to a general trend of increasing outbound mobility from the region.

The most popular destinations for Nigerians are the US, UK, and Canada. For Cameroonians, France and Germany are top choices. Zimbabweans tend to favour South Africa.

Other markets on the rise are Ghana (where the number of outbound students is up 62% since 2011) and Cote d’Ivoire (up 87%).

Trends in destination popularity

France has had great success in enrolling more Sub-Saharan African students in recent years (up 40% between 2016-21). The US is also on the move, enrolling 20% more students from the region in the past five years. But it’s Turkey (up 187%), Canada (up 67%) and Morocco (up 61%) that can claim the highest rates of growth in the past five years.

By contrast, South Africa and the UK are down 14% and 9%, respectively, in that time frame.

The following graphic from the Campus France report provides a sense of which kinds of study are the most attractive to Sub-Saharan African students right now. Licence (bachelor’s) and STEM are the main draws for African students heading to France.

For additional background, please see:

Most Recent

  • What is holding back brand strategy in higher education marketing? Read More
  • Growing use of AI for study abroad decisions highlights importance of multi-channel marketing strategies Read More
  • ICEF Podcast: Beyond the offer letter: The services that drive international student success Read More

Most Popular

  • Which countries will contribute the most to global student mobility in 2030? Read More
  • Research shows link between study abroad and poverty alleviation  Read More
  • Beyond the Big Four: How demand for study abroad is shifting to destinations in Asia and Europe Read More

Because you found this article interesting

UK to implement reduced Graduate Route from January 2027 The UK Home Office has confirmed the implementation of one of the key items in its May 2025...
Read more
UK transnational education enrolments poised to surpass onshore students this decade The latest available numbers from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) tell us that there were 732,285 international...
Read more
Trump administration’s proposed deal with select US colleges includes a cap on international undergraduate enrolment Update for 15 October: Since this item was first published, two of the institutions that received the proposed...
Read more
Australia introduces new integrity measures through proposed amendments to the ESOS Act Australian Minister of Education Jason Clare tabled the Education Legislation Amendment (Integrity and Other Measures) Bill 2025 in...
Read more
Australia: With ELICOS under pressure, peak bodies push for reduction in “extortionate” visa fees The latest data from the Department of Education reveals that enrolments in Australia’s ELICOS sector (English Language Intensive...
Read more
South Korea hits its 300,000 student target two years ahead of schedule In 2023, the South Korean government announced a plan to attract 300,000 international students by 2027: 220,000 in...
Read more
Canada: Study permit numbers are in steep decline in 2025 In 2024, the first year under Canada’s current cap on new international student enrolments, the total number of...
Read more
UK confirms levy on international student fees as new analysis argues that government is “drastically underestimating” the impact of the move Updated for 30 September 2025: On 29 September, the Department of Education announced that it would reinstate “means-tested...
Read more
What are you looking for?
Quick Links