Canada has retained its position as the world’s most preferred study destination, with 95 percent of surveyed students expressing interest in studying there, according to ApplyBoard’s Fall 2025 Student Pulse Survey conducted in September. But there’s a significant shift happening beneath these headline numbers that could reshape global education dynamics.
Nigeria has emerged as the most cited alternative study destination outside traditional hubs, with 12 percent of nearly 300 surveyed students considering it as an option. Ghana followed with 5 percent, ranking among the top 10 alternative destinations worldwide. These figures represent a notable shift in how students view Africa’s education landscape.
The survey, conducted by Ontario-based educational technology company ApplyBoard, reveals that international students are becoming more strategic about where they study. They’re weighing affordability, post-study work opportunities, and safety with unprecedented scrutiny as policy changes reshape the global education market.
Canada’s appeal stems partly from its perception as an open, safe, and welcoming destination, with 71 percent of students agreeing with that characterization. By comparison, only 43 percent felt the same way about the United States, reflecting growing caution amid recent visa policy shifts and student visa revocations.
The US figure represents a nine percentage point drop from ApplyBoard’s Spring 2025 survey, suggesting that America’s traditional dominance in international education is facing genuine challenges. When recruitment professionals were surveyed separately in Fall 2025, only 50 percent agreed the US was an open, safe, and welcoming destination for international students, dropping 24 percentage points from Spring 2025.
What’s driving interest in African education? Nigeria now has 273 universities compared to just 41 in 1998, though the system faces critical funding challenges. Nearly 85,000 Nigerian students were enrolled in tertiary programs globally in 2021, quadrupling over two decades. Yet Nigeria’s domestic education system can only accommodate about 12 percent of university-age people, creating massive unmet demand.
Ghana has seen similar expansion, with public universities growing from nine in 2018 to 16 today, plus four more announced in 2024. However, only 20 percent of people aged 18 to 23 were enrolled in higher education programs in 2022. These capacity gaps are driving outbound mobility, but they’re also spurring investment in domestic institutions that could eventually attract regional students.
The number of Ghanaian students studying in the “big four” English destinations, Canada, US, UK, and Australia, has more than quadrupled since 2019. Over 7,000 Ghanaian students were issued Canadian student visas for post-secondary studies in 2023, representing a nearly 1,800 percent increase in just five years.
The survey found that 38 percent of respondents are exploring alternative destinations beyond the traditional six, Canada, UK, US, Australia, Germany, and Ireland, up three percentage points from Spring 2025. This diversification trend reflects both economic pressures and strategic thinking about where to invest educational dollars.
When it comes to program choices, business dominates. Forty percent of surveyed students plan to pursue business-related programs like commerce, marketing, or management. Another 24 percent are focused on math, computer science, and IT fields, while 22 percent are interested in health and medical programs.
Interest in engineering dipped to 16 percent, its lowest point since 2023, possibly reflecting cost concerns and post-study policy constraints. However, aviation and aerospace careers saw a sharp rise from just 0.5 percent in Spring 2025 to 4 percent in Fall 2025, driven by sector expansion and anticipated pilot shortages.
Students’ post-graduation plans reveal strategic thinking. Forty-three percent intend to gain short-term work experience in their study destination, 22 percent aim for permanent residency, and 27 percent plan to return home immediately to apply their skills. Only 6 percent were undecided.
For African students, this reflects a balance between global exposure and regional contribution. Many plan to use international experience to strengthen home industries, from healthcare and education to tech entrepreneurship. Both Nigeria and Ghana face significant youth unemployment, with 36 percent of Ghanaians aged 20 to 24 unemployed in 2023, making international credentials particularly valuable.
Canada’s continued dominance isn’t just about perception. The country offers strong post-study work options through the Post-Graduation Work Permit program, which allows graduates to work for up to three years. Despite new enrolment limits and PGWP adjustments announced in 2024, 30 percent of surveyed students said their interest in Canada has “greatly increased,” while 18 percent reported it “increased somewhat.”
Nigerian students comprised 32 percent of survey participants, which partly explains Nigeria’s high ranking as an alternative destination. Many Nigerian students are considering both domestic and international options, suggesting they’re weighing the trade-offs between studying at home versus abroad.
The emergence of African nations as both significant senders and potential receivers of international students marks a pivotal moment. China reportedly funded 30,000 Africans to study there between 2015 and 2018, while Russia expects to provide government scholarships to 10,000 African students in 2024, and India pledged to fund 50,000 Africans through 2025. These state-sponsored recruitment strategies are changing the competitive landscape.
For Ghana and Nigeria specifically, the challenge is converting domestic expansion into regional attraction. Both countries have English-language education systems, growing middle classes, and improving infrastructure. If they can address quality concerns and funding gaps, they could capture students from neighboring West African nations who currently travel to South Africa, Egypt, or beyond.
Career aspirations among surveyed students revealed nursing as the top field, followed by business management, software engineering, and research. Tech-driven fields like data science, IT, and cybersecurity remain popular, reflecting global digital industry growth.
The survey findings suggest that international education isn’t shrinking despite policy turbulence and economic pressures. Instead, it’s diversifying. Students are no longer defaulting to traditional destinations but actively comparing options based on cost, safety, work opportunities, and long-term career prospects.
For African universities, this represents an opportunity. As Western nations implement stricter visa policies and enrollment caps, African institutions that invest in quality, offer competitive programs, and market themselves effectively could capture market share. The question is whether governments will provide the funding and policy support needed to realize that potential.
The UK remained the most attractive destination according to recruitment professionals surveyed in Fall 2025, with Canada climbing to second place from fourth in the previous survey, while the US fell to third from first in 2024. This reshuffling suggests the international education market is more fluid than it’s been in decades.
What’s clear is that students from Nigeria and Ghana are increasingly influential in global education flows. Ghana ranked as Canada’s ninth most common source country for new post-secondary international students in 2023, up from 37th in 2018. These aren’t marginal players anymore but significant contributors to campus diversity and international education revenue.
The real story in ApplyBoard’s latest data isn’t just that Canada leads or that the US is struggling. It’s that students from emerging economies are taking control of their educational destinies, comparing options globally, and increasingly considering whether studying closer to home might offer better value. For African education systems, that’s both a challenge and an unprecedented opportunity.
Source: newsghana.com.gh
