It is no coincidence that the Key Five are all emerging countries in the Global South, where large proportions of students are open to emigrating, temporarily or permanently, because of limited local opportunities. This makes immigration officials tend to question whether study visa applicants are genuine students – i.e., interested in quality education, a high-skilled job, and remaining compliant with visa conditions – or individuals with little intent to study and great intent to migrate in any way they can. Unfortunately, many genuine students from the Global South are disadvantaged in their applications because of where they are from.

The impact of the visa rejection trend for students from emerging economies in Asia and Africa could be enormous across the global international education landscape – and beyond. Already, it is spurring fewer visa grants, reduced recruiting in high-risk markets, and more withdrawals from students eager to avoid a rejection on their student profile. Not surprisingly, commencements are trending down in leading study destinations, and this will pressure overall enrolments in the years ahead.

In this article, we will look at Key Five origin countries with regards to:

• Their importance to overall enrolments across the Big Four;
• Recent study visa rejection rates;
• Commencement trends (i.e., the volume of new students provided a study visa allowing them to enrol in a Big Four education institution).

Contribution to overall international student numbers

According to the most recent available enrolment data, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Nigeria, and Pakistan compose anywhere from 30% to 40%+ of the entire international student body in Big Four destinations.

Visa rejection rates for the Key Five

Having illustrated the huge presence of Key Five students in the total international student populations of the Big Four, we’ll turn to recent visa refusal trends (where official data are available).

Bangladesh: Nearly three-quarters (73%) of Bangladeshi applicants for US F-1 visas were turned away in 2025. Bangladeshi students have in recent years been very likely to receive a visa for Australia (about a 5% rejection rate in 2024/25), but in February 2026, more than half (51%) of offshore applicants from Bangladesh were refused.

India: Indian students, who represent either the #1 or #2 source market across the Big Four, are now quite likely to be refused a study visa in those destinations. Rejection rates were 61% in the US (2025), 80% in Canada (Q2 2025), and 60% in Australia (February 2026). While only 7.5% were denied a sponsored study visa in the UK in Q4 2025–Q1 2026, this this was up from less than 4% in winter 2024/25.

Nepal: More than 8 in 10 (81%) Nepali applicants were rejected for a US F-1 visa in 2025, and in February 2026, the Australian study visa rejection rate for Nepal soared to 65%. Interestingly, Nepali students were more likely to be approved for a UK sponsored study visa in winter 2025/26 than in winter 2024/25, bucking the general trend for emerging markets (see chart below).

Nigeria: Since December 2025, Nigerians have been included in an expanded travel ban announced by the US administration, along with dozens of other countries (mostly in Africa and Asia). In the UK, sponsored study rejections for Nigerian students used to be rare (less than 5%), but in winter 2025/26, 20% of Nigerian applicants were turned away. In Canada, between 70–80% were refused a study permit in in 2025.

Pakistan: More than 70% of Pakistanis were refused an F-1 visa in the US in 2026, and more than 6 in 10 offshore applicants from Pakistan were denied an Australian study visa in February 2026. Like Nigerians, Pakistani students applying for a sponsored study visa in the UK saw their rejection rate spike massively in winter 2025/26: increasing from 5.6% to 41% year-over-year.

These rejection rates for Key Five countries represent an absolutely huge number of potential students turned away.

What is happening to commencements?

Key Five commencements (new student entrants) are falling across the Big Four, with less than a handful of exceptions.
 
A striking example is F-1 visa issuances in the US in July/August of 2024 compared with July/August 2025. The percentages in the table below are based on our analysis of data from the US Department of State. It bears mentioning that in September of 2025 (not shown in the table), F-1 commencements fell further for Bangladesh (-69%), Nepal (-96%), Nigeria (-33%), and Pakistan (-9%) compared with September 2024.

In the UK, the following chart from HESA shows the dramatic drop-off in Indian (turquoise) and Nigerian (navy blue) commencements between 2023/24 and 2024/25: -13% and -33%, respectively. Over the span of two years (2022/23 to 2024/25), the declines were even more serious: -33% for India (126,580 to 94,955) and -132% for Nigeria (53,790 to 23,160).

In Canada, new student arrivals (from all nationalities) fell from 208,750 in 2024 to 115,120 in 2025. In January to April 2026 compared with the same period in 2025, arrivals were down -73% to about 200,000. There is no publicly available government information for specific markets, but the Times of India reports that between January and August 2025, Canada issued just 9,955 new study permits to Indian students.

In Australia, overall commencements fell by about -15% between 2024 and 2025, but this decline was concentrated in sectors other than higher education (the number of new international students in Australian universities edged up slightly in that time period). There was more of a mixed bag of commencement trends for the Key Five than in Canada, the UK, and US. Between 2024 and 2025, Indian and Pakistani commencements fell by -3.5% and -33%, respectively, while Nepal was up +33.5% and Bangladesh +33%.

The implications will stretch beyond international education

Our Key Five markets – Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Nigeria, and Pakistan – can be viewed as roughly representative of what is happening to mobility influences and flows between the Global South and Big Four destinations. They serve to show how immigration policies (and/or policy effects) in the Big Four are affecting demand from top non-EU markets. These policies, especially if they stretch on in time, could lead to:

• An intensification of existing challenges for the operations of hundreds of universities, colleges, and schools across the Big Four. Those institutions are often highly reliant on international student tuition amid declining domestic enrolments and/or public funding. Chinese commencements (which, for decades, were an important source of overall growth) are falling, and emerging markets in Asia and Africa have helped to mitigate the impact.

• Alternative destinations gaining a greater share of the world’s internationally mobile students (this is already happening – see From the Big Four to the Big Fourteen for background).



• A decline in the economic contribution of international education in the Big Four.



• A weakening of innovation and productivity in Big Four economies. India, in particular, contributes a large volume of STEM students and workers to Western nations.



• An erosion of the soft power of the Big Four in the Global South.

Methodological note

Data analyses are based on statistics from:

• The Australian
• (IRCC)
• The UK’s (HESA)
• The in the US

For additional information, please see:

• “UK: International student numbers fall for second year, especially in postgraduate programmes“
• “UK: Sponsored study visa issuances down, rejection rates up, and more“
• “There are more international students in the US than ever in 2025, but commencements are declining“
• “Visa rejections climb in the US for international students from key markets including India“
• “New international student permit approvals for Canada fell below COVID levels in 2025“
• “Australia: Multiple data indicators signal further declines ahead for international student numbers“
• “Australia: Latest enrolment data challenges the government’s assertion of stability for international education this year“

The post What is happening to student mobility flows between the Global South and Global North?  appeared first on şÚÁĎąŮÍř Monitor - Market intelligence for international student recruitment.

Little by little, the wall gets higher

The movement to restrict African nationals from coming to the US began in the summer of 2025, when the administration stopped processing the visas of students (and other nationals) from several countries including Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Libya, Somalia, and Sudan. This list was quickly expanded to include Angola, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, the Gambia, Liberia, Malawi, Nigeria, Niger, Senegal, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.

In bluntest terms: Of the 54 countries in Africa, almost half made the travel ban list in the summer of 2025. Currently, African countries account for the lion’s share of all 39 countries on that list.

In January 2026, the government began targeting African students already in the US. Immigration officers were directed to pause visa processing for students from travel-ban countries applying for Optional Practical Training (OPT) and extensions, the H-1B programme, or the work component attached to J-1 visas. That same month, the pause applied to Green Card applicants from 23 African countries, many of which were on the travel ban list.

Now, in June 2026, the US State Department is from 50 consular posts to 20 designated regional hubs. This means all African students will have to travel to one of those 20 hubs to apply for a US study visa and sit for an interview. Some prospective applicants live hundreds of kilometres away from a hub. Reaching a hub may now necessitate flights and staying over in more than one city.

The impact

Policy after policy is now making it nearly impossible for many African students to study in the US. Through visa bans and high rejection rates; immigration restrictions; and now the reduction of visa processing offices, the barriers are mounting for African students hoping to study in the United States.

African markets have been the fastest growing sources of students for US universities in recent years. For example, between 2023/24 and 2024/25, according to , these were the biggest growth stories, including top 20 markets of Nigeria (#8) and Ghana (#14):

• Cameroon: +20.5% to 1,180
• Ethiopia: +10.5 to 3,400
• Tanzania: +11% to 1,140
• Uganda: +15% to 1,500
• Zimbabwe: +42% to 2,700
• Ghana: +36.5% to 12,830
• Nigeria: +9% to 21,850

Overall, African enrolments in US higher education institutions grew by +15% in 2024/25 compared with +5% for Asia, +3% for Europe, and +2.5% for Latin America and the Caribbean.

For additional background, please see:

• “US extends travel ban, Nigeria now included on restricted list“
• “US: Student visa issuances fell by -36% in summer 2025; OPT uncertainty among factors affecting international student demand”

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Today, we’ll use the same lens to look at Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, and Senegal. All three countries feature strong demand for study abroad, primarily for French-language instruction but with significant segments willing to study in English or another language.

Côte d’Ivoire

Côte d’Ivoire has been on a positive economic performance trajectory. summarises:

“CĂ´te d’Ivoire’s economic growth is solid and remarkably resilient in the face of global shocks … growth is expected to reach 6.2% in 2025 and 6.4% on average through 2027, driven by hydrocarbons, services, and private investment sectors.”

Another market fundamental is extremely strong. UNşÚÁĎąŮÍř notes: “By 2050, CĂ´te d’Ivoire will be the country with the tenth highest proportion of people under 18 years of age.”

says: “CĂ´te d’Ivoire has the third-largest economy in ECOWAS at US$72.4 billion and has experienced average annual growth of 8% since 2010, making it one of the fastest-growing economies in Africa.”

• GDP growth projection: 6.1%% in 2024 ().
  
• Population: 38.2 million.
  
• Median age: 18. Over 50% of the population is .
  
• Main cities: Abidjan, BouakĂ©, Daloa, San Pedro, and capital city Yamoussoukro.
  
• Proportion of population in poverty: . Middle-class estimates are not available.
  
• Currency performance: The CFA franc appreciated by just over 6% against the US dollar from 2024 to 2025.
  
• Inflation rate: Only 0.3% ().
  
• Youth unemployment: The official stat is that under 4% of Ivorians aged 15–24 are unemployed. But estimates that 60-65% are not employed in the formal economy.
  
• Outbound mobility trends: About 16,000. The are France (by far, with close to 11,000), Belgium, Canada, Morocco, UK, US, India, China, and Russia.
  
• English-language proficiency: “”

Outlook: CĂ´te d’Ivoire is an increasingly important emerging market due to its strengthening economy, shrinking poverty rate, low inflation, and currency performance. Lack of jobs and quality higher education are drivers of outbound mobility. Despite CĂ´te d’Ivoire’s improving economic performance, youth unemployment is considered by many to be . Most students speak French as their first language, but there is also demand for English-language studies and the UK, for one, is actively recruiting in CĂ´te d’Ivoire.

Senegal

Senegal is another high achiever in terms of recent economic performance in Africa. The country – one of the most stable and secure in the region – surpassed its 2024 GDP growth mark (6.1%) .

The IMF gives a fairly glowing review of the situation this year:

“The authorities deserve recognition for their continued commitment to transparency, fiscal discipline, and sound macroeconomic management. Despite global uncertainty and tighter financing conditions, Senegal’s economy remains robust in 2025, supported by the first full year of oil and gas production and a rebound in agriculture. Real GDP growth is projected at about 7.9 percent this year, with non-hydrocarbon growth around 3.4 percent, while inflation is expected to average about 1.4 percent.

Fiscal performance through end-September has been broadly in line with the revised 2025 budget, with revenues on target and non-priority spending contained. The overall deficit is projected to narrow sharply from 13.4 percent of GDP in 2024 to 7.8 percent in 2025, reflecting the authorities’ strong commitment to consolidation.”

Senegal is a Francophone nation, but the government is trying to increase English-language proficiency in order to allow Senegal and its people to participate more fully in the global economy. English is now being introduced in nursery schools as part of this aim.

• GDP growth projection: 7.9% ()
  
• Population: 18.9 million. Senegal is among .
  
• Median age: 19.5. Over 60% of the population is .
  
• Main cities: Dakar, Touba, and Thiès.
  
• Proportion of population in the middle class: Official stats are not available but especially in Dakar, .
  
• Currency performance: The CFA franc appreciated by just over 6% against the US dollar from 2024 to 2025.
  
• Inflation rate: 1.9% in October.
  
• Youth unemployment: The official stat is that 4.4% of Senegalese aged 15–24 are unemployed, but estimates the real rate of Senegalese youth not employed in the formal economy is above 60%.
  
• Outbound mobility trends: Over 20,000, with the being France (over 16,000), Morocco, and Canada.
  
• English-language proficiency: “”

Outlook: Senegal’s economic performance, stability, global-mindedness, and fast-growing population make this country a very interesting emerging market.

Cameroon

(IMF) downgraded economic growth in Cameroon in 2025 to reach 3.8%, noting that tighter financing conditions are part of the downgraded estimate. At the same time the IMF noted that Cameroon has “made substantial progress on its climate policy framework and enhanced readiness for climate adaptation and mitigation.”

notes:

“Cameroon has one of Central Africa’s largest economies, benefiting from a mix of oil production, agriculture, and manufacturing. The country is a key exporter of crude oil, cocoa, coffee, and timber. However, economic growth has been constrained by weak governance, infrastructure bottlenecks, and ongoing security challenges in the Anglophone regions, where separatist conflicts have disrupted business activity.”

The IMF and other external lenders have been working with and funding the Cameroonian government to strengthen the country’s economic resilience. Exports make up only about 15% of total GDP, which is low by global standards, bracing the country somewhat from external shocks. But because oil and petroleum make up over half of export earnings, the economy remains vulnerable. Cameroon’s oil revenues shrunk by 13% this year.

Demand is strong from Cameroon given insufficient state funding of education (13% of total budget), lack of high-quality educational options (especially for English-language Cameroonians), and low availability of jobs in the formal economy.

• GDP growth projection: 3.8% in 2025 ().
  
• Population: 30 million.
  
• Median age: 18. Over 60% of the population is under the age of 25.
  
• Main cities: Douala and łŰ˛ą´ÇłÜ˛Ô»ĺĂ©.
  
• Proportion of population in poverty: 30%. Middle-class estimates are not available.
  
• Currency performance: Between October 2024 and October 2025, the CFA franc BEAC appreciated by 6% relative to the US dollar and in the past 12 months, it rose by 9%.
  
• Inflation rate: 3.3% (as of mid-2025), a decrease from 7.4% in 2023 and the lowest rate since 2021.
  
• Youth unemployment: 6.2% of those aged 15–24 are in the formal economy. But the informal economy is where 90% of Cameroonians work, indicating challenges for youth to obtain stable jobs.
  
• Outbound mobility trends: About 30,000. Cameroon is the second largest African sender of students abroad after Nigeria. The main destinations are France, Canada, Germany, China, Morocco, Tunisia, South Africa.
  
• English-language proficiency: “”

Outlook: Cameroon has a relatively small population but a high proportion of youth. Study abroad drivers for 2026 will be low inflation, currency strengthening, and demand for high quality education and jobs. There is demand for both English and French studies, since Cameroon is a bilingual country.

For more information, please see:

• “Drivers of study abroad in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Nepal, and Vietnam“
• “East African student mobility: Current trends and future possibilities“

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The twenty years between 1990 and 2010 saw a rapid expansion of student mobility. The number of students pursuing higher education credentials abroad increased by 5.4–5.9% per year, on average – a much higher rate of growth than in the previous two decades. The reason, in a word, was China.

China was the main contributor to student mobility growth from 1970 until about 2015 on the back of its roaring economy, burgeoning middle class, and massive gaps between student demand for higher education and capacity at reputable Chinese universities. These factors propelled large numbers of Chinese students abroad for many years. Most of them were self-funded, and many of them were just as likely to return home after their studies as they were to stay on in their host destination to work.

Chinese students shaped educators’ understanding of international students in general. Their priorities were assumed to be foreign students’ priorities…until fairly recently.

Evolving needs

Now, students’ top-of-mind concerns centre on the costs of study abroad. This manifests in several ways, including interest in work opportunities during and after study abroad, greater price sensitivity in the marketplace, and the growing popularity of affordable study destinations.

Chinese students are no exception. China’s economy has cooled in recent years and its youth face historically high unemployment rates. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, Chinese families became more hesitant about study abroad, more worried about safety, and less convinced that investing in a foreign degree will provide the same benefits as it used to.

New expectations

The composition of foreign enrolment in many destinations has changed substantially over the past 10 years. There is a far greater diversity of students coming from all over the world and much greater outbound flows from South Asia and Africa.

Tens of thousands of students are now from lower-middle-income countries in which the Gross National Income (GNI) per capita is between US$1,136 and $4,495. These dynamic sending markets include Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Nepal, Vietnam, and at least a dozen others. In Nepal, fully one in five students now chooses to leave their country for tertiary education.

Considering the low GNI in those countries, there is an associated need among many students to work during and after studies; to carefully examine the costs of study and living in various study destinations; and to choose programmes most strongly linked to positive career outcomes.

Inside the numbers

In 2010, there were just over four million students abroad in higher education. Roughly 1.3 million – almost 31% of the total – were from China, and in that year alone, the number of Chinese outbound students surged by 24%.

That same year, there were just over 330,000 students from South Asia studying abroad, with most coming from India. The number of African students was about the same.

By 2019, the global total of international students rose to six million. Nearly three in ten (28%) were from China, but roughly as many were from key markets in South Asia – including over a million from India. Meanwhile, the number of African students abroad reached nearly half a million.

By 2024, student mobility had rebounded from the pandemic, and almost seven million students were abroad. However, a much greater range of countries contributed to that outbound trend than in 2010 and 2019. The number of Chinese students dipped to just over one million (or about 14% of the total) while the number of Indian students climbed to an estimated 1.3 million, representing nearly 19% of the total in 2024. Other South Asian markets – notably Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka – also registered very strong growth.

Buffeted by economic headwinds at home, the number of African students did not grow significantly in the five years between 2019 and 2024. However, given its massive college-aged population, Africa is expected to figure much more prominently in global mobility trends going forward. To highlight just one indicator of that potential, the United Nations has projected that by 2030, one of every four people on the planet aged 15-24 will live in Africa.

Implications

We have entered an era in which global student flows are heavily shaped by students from South Asia, Africa, and Southeast Asia.

This accelerating trend means that the historical understanding of international students – largely informed by the Chinese students who once greatly outnumbered students from other countries – is outdated. The reality is that the world’s mobile students are more heterogeneous than ever – from varied backgrounds and with unique as
well as common needs.

It is time to double down on brainstorming about how to enhance the study abroad experience for a more diverse range of students. This means creating more detailed student personas; conducting more market intelligence research; reaching out to current international students for insights; examining the range of student services on offer; prioritising integration services; tailoring the website to address concerns and aspirations in top target markets; providing better guidance on immigration rules and visas; and more. It also involves recognising that work rights, career services, and career outcomes have joined quality of education as dominant drivers of student decision-making.

The international students of today – and of the future – will be shopping the market for value and measurable outcomes more carefully than ever before. The most competitive institutions will deliver that ROI in every facet of their offer to students.

For additional background, please see:

• “What students want: The top decision factors for study abroad“
• “The four key trends that will shape international student mobility for the next decade“

The post The changing face of international student mobility appeared first on şÚÁĎąŮÍř Monitor - Market intelligence for international student recruitment.

And it means, says BONARD’s , that the ELT sector was sitting at 73% of its pre-pandemic enrolment, and 75% of 2019’s student weeks, for 2024.

As to why, the report points to the same headwinds that are buffeting student flows to major study destinations in 2024 and 2025, but also that students are finding alternative options for language study.

“The data shows two dominant forces reshaping student mobility: visa barriers and affordability,” said Sarah Verkinova, Head of International Education at BONARD Education. “This has pushed many students to explore alternative destinations such as Dubai and the Philippines, which together attracted more than 100,000 ELT learners in 2024.” Among the top eight destinations represented in the report, only Ireland and Malta are trending above their respective pre-COVID benchmarks. BONARD attributes that progress to Ireland and Malta’s visa-friendly policies and work rights for language learners that helped, “attract students discouraged by stricter regulations, high course fees, and other expenses in other destinations.”

The report adds that, while ELT volumes in the UK declined in 2024, the United Kingdom remains the most popular destination for English language study, with an estimated 38% market share. Part of that strength arises from the UK’s dominant position in the junior market. Junior students accounted for 62% of total ELT enrolments in the UK in 2024, the most of any of the top eight destinations. Ireland and Malta – again, the only two destinations to reach above pre-pandemic levels in 2024 – also hosted significant numbers of junior students last year (55% and 50% of ELT enrolments respectively).

Softening source markets

The top ten sending markets for ELT accounted for nearly two-thirds (63%) of all student weeks in 2024. Brazil moved past Colombia to become the largest ELT market during the year. With the exception of Colombia, all of the top five senders have declined from pre-pandemic levels.

The outlook for this year

“In 2025, government interventions and economic conditions will continue to shape global ELT trends,” says the report. “Policy shifts, visa regulations, and financial pressures are expected to influence both student decision-making and destination performance.

“Junior student mobility to the traditional ‘Big Four’ countries is projected to decline further. Concerns around safety and perceptions of a less welcoming environment are discouraging parents and students from choosing these study destinations…In summary, 2025 is likely to bring another year of decline for the eight major ELT study destinations. The same combination of factors will continue to weigh on the sector: immigration and visa policies in several countries, persistent visa and affordability barriers, and significant share of international students, particularly from China, choosing not to travel.”

For additional background, please see:

• “Nearly 30 Canadian language programmes closed in Q1, marking the ‘sharpest decline in the sector’s history’“
• “Irish ELT sector sounds note of ‘cautious stability’ for 2024“
• “US ELT numbers moving toward pre-pandemic norms“
• “UK ELT reports a decline in student weeks for 2024“

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The Post‘s report is based on a State Department memo, which was obtained by the paper, signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and sent on 14 June to US diplomats posted in the listed countries.

The governments of the countries listed in the memo were given 60 days to meet new benchmarks and requirements set out by the State Department. The memo also set a deadline of 18 June – mere days later – for each country to provide the US with a preliminary plan for meetings those new benchmarks. Countries that do not respond, or that do not otherwise satisfy the State Department, may find their citizens subject to a full or partial ban on entry to the United States – thereby adding to the travel bans already in place from 4 June.

The issues raised in the memo are various and vary from country to country. They include: concerns around a country’s ability to produce bona fide identity documents, about “widespread government fraud,” or “antisemitic and anti-American activity,” or large numbers of citizens from the country overstaying their US visas.

The countries targeted for additional scrutiny in the memo are: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Dominica, Ethiopia, Egypt, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, South Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Tonga, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Roughly two thirds of the countries on that list are found in Africa, a continent that – because of its extremely large and youthful population and persistent issues with higher education supply – has become an increasingly important source of students for foreign institutions in recent years.

A recent brief from (IIE) points out that, “Some higher education systems in Sub-Saharan Africa will struggle to keep pace with the growth in their university-age student populations. In Nigeria, the youth population has grown so quickly that the country’s universities can only admit one-third of the two million students who apply each year.”

The latest highlights that Africa was, by far, the fastest-growing sending region for US higher education in 2024.

Two of the countries listed in the memo – Nigeria and Ghana – were among the top 20 international student markets for the US in 2024. Nigeria was America’s 9th largest sending market last year, and Ghana was the fastest-growing African market for US educators.

“Attracting global talent is crucial for driving the US economy’s growth and maintaining the country’s leadership in research and development,” adds the IIE brief. “International students play a crucial role in ensuring that key STEM industries have access to top talent in fields such as health, technology, and manufacturing, among others. The American economy also benefits; international students contribute over [USD]$50 billion each year to the US economy and create nearly 400,000 jobs. The U.S. will continue to drive the development of new industries, and building a domestic and global pipeline of talent will advance this pivotal role.”

For additional background, please see:

• “Africa ascending: The demographic juggernaut driving student mobility in the 21st century“
• “Breaking: US resumes student visa processing“
• “What are the latest developments for international students in the United States?“
• “Real-time insights on shifting international student interest in the US“

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Official name: Republic of Cameroon

Geography: Cameroon is in Central Africa on the Gulf of Guinea. It shares borders with Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Nigeria, Chad, the Central African Republic, and the Republic of the Congo.

Capital: łŰ˛ą´ÇłÜ˛Ô»ĺĂ©

Population: 30 million (2025) and rapidly growing (14th in the world).

Youth population: Over 60% of the population is under 25

Median age: 18

GDP: US$56 billion (projected 2025)

Currency: Central African Franc (CFA franc)

Official languages: English and French (but more than 24 other African languages are spoken in the country). Many Cameroonians speak an African language first, and either English or French second. The ratio of French to English proficiency is estimated at 80%–20%, and this stems back to post-WWI when the League of Nations stripped Germany of its claim on Cameroon and accorded four-fifths of Cameroon to France and one-fifth to Britain for governance.

Main language of instruction: French in some regions, English in others, and bilingual instruction in some cases. For decades, the aim has been for bilingualism throughout the country, but most Cameroonians are not functionally proficient in both languages. The language of instruction follows regional lines, echoes colonial legacies, and reflects ethnic divisions in some cases.

English proficiency: “” according to the EF Proficiency Index.

Religion: Christianity is predominant, but Islam is followed by 30%.

Outbound students: About 30,000. Cameroon is the second largest African sender of students abroad after Nigeria.

Main student cities: łŰ˛ą´ÇłÜ˛Ô»ĺĂ©, Douala, Buea, and Bamenda.

Main destination countries for Cameroonian students: France, Canada, Germany, China, Morocco, Tunisia, South Africa.

The Republic of Cameroon is one of the few countries in the world containing significant demand for both French and English higher education programmes. The country’s development is highly influenced by German, French, and British colonial legacies and the languages associated with them.

After WWI, Cameroon’s governance was divided between France and Britain. Most of Cameroon was put under French influence, while Britain was left with about a fifth of the country in the Northwest and Southwest regions. That political and geographic division was arbitrary, and it divided cultures and ethnic groups that had once been very similar. What’s more, as a colonial power, France invested more in the economic and education systems of Cameroon relative to the British, who focused their interest on Cameroon’s larger neighbour, Nigeria.

Cameroon achieved independence in 1960, but resentment is high among English-speaking Cameroonians about the advantages their French-speaking compatriots enjoyed in colonial times and now. Francophone-majority regions are treated much more favourably by the country’s present-day, independent government.

About 25% of Cameroon’s population speaks English (close to 3 million people), while 58% (about 6.5 million) speak French. Drilling down further, roughly a fifth of English-speakers speak English and not French (but may speak African languages in addition to English), while almost half speak only French (and possibly other African languages) and not English. On average, a Cameroonian speaks three languages a day.

A bitter civil war has been ongoing for seven years, and it is often called “the Anglophone crisis” given the conflict’s roots in English-speakers’ anger about lack of economic opportunity, educational access and quality, and benevolent governance.

explains:

“Opportunities for higher education in English are minimal. Though the University of łŰ˛ą´ÇłÜ˛Ô»ĺĂ© is officially bilingual, a 2020 study found that 80% of lectures are conducted in French. Textbooks in English are usually poorly translated. Key laws, including systems of corporate regulations, often lack English translations. Civil servants are overwhelmingly Francophone and conduct their services in French. In 2017, out of 36 political ministers with a portfolio, only one was Anglophone. Francophone lawyers, judges, and teachers are frequently given positions in the Anglophone regions. Poverty levels in the Anglophone regions are among the highest in the country. Political discrimination is rampant. Since the 1990s, the government has issued restrictions on Anglophone advocacy groups ranging from restricting gatherings in public buildings to banning books and media examining the crisis.”

(WENR) notes that 2017 was a flash point of the tensions around language instruction in Cameroon:

“[In 2017], the Anglophone-based Cameroon Teachers Trade Union (CATTU) presented the central government with a list of grievances, including higher rates of admission of Francophone students into professional and technical schools, accusations of doctoring admissions conducted in łŰ˛ą´ÇłÜ˛Ô»ĺĂ© for Francophone students applying to the Anglophone region’s two main universities, and the appointment of Francophone teachers lacking a command of English to Anglophone schools.

Even at the country’s two Anglophone universities, Bamenda and Buea, Francophone students outnumber Anglophone students in professional departments by a ratio of nine to one. Some university entrance examinations have even been offered exclusively in French or in poorly translated English, putting Anglophone applicants at a severe disadvantage.”

The tensions escalated to armed conflict, shuttering schools and closing off educational opportunities for Anglophone students in the Northwest and Southwest regions. Since then, some schools have reopened but educational quality for Anglophone students continues to suffer. Many Anglophone teachers have reported being forced to teach in French to English-speaking students. And students in the Northwest and Southwest regions are living amidst a violent insurgency by Anglophone separatists striving for independence from Cameroon.

Across all regions, the Cameroonian government allocates only 13% of total annual budget to education. By comparison, the education budget line is 24% of the total in Morocco.

How do language tensions influence outbound mobility from Cameroon?

There is great demand for study abroad in all regions of Cameroon and from Anglophone and Francophone students. However, Francophone students are often privy to higher quality primary and secondary education than their Anglophone counterparts, and their numbers are far greater. Because of regional economic disparities, Anglophone families are often less able to fund their children’s education abroad. Institutions recruiting Anglophone Cameroonians should have robust financial, language, and academic supports/pathways in place in order for those students to succeed.

Official data show that Cameroonians (of whom most are Francophone) currently favour the overseas destinations of France (10,880 Cameroonians in 2023/24, +11% y-o-y), Canada: 8,095 in 2023/24, +100% y-o-y), and Germany: 6,780 (+3% y-o-y). But there are many Cameroonians in other places as well, including Morocco (where 19,000 students out of a total of 23,500 international students are African), South Africa, Tunisia, and China.

Strong moves by China and Morocco

Cameroon is part of China’s Belt and Road soft power initiative, and given the economic opportunities opened by Chinese investment in their country, increasing numbers of Cameroonian students are learning Mandarin. is also offering robust scholarships to Cameroonian students.

Morocco, too, is flexing its soft power in sub-Saharan Africa and invests the most of any African country in the Economic and Monetary Community of Central African States (CEMAC). Pierre Oyonomvogo and Sanae Kasmi, scholars at the Euromed University of Fès, :

“The president of the Association of Cameroonian Students in Morocco reports that there are approximately 300 Cameroonian students with scholarships, and 150 students in private universities in Morocco. To allow Cameroonian students to migrate, Morocco through the Ministry of Higher Education of Cameroon, has for years been launching a call for applications for scholarships.”

Economic growth and inequities

The UN considers Cameroon a lower-middle-income economy with “rich natural resources, including oil and gas, mineral ores, and high-value species of timber and agricultural products, such as coffee, cotton, cocoa, maize, and cassava.” These natural resources are naturally a draw for foreign investors and represent incredible potential for Cameroon’s development. The economy by 4.4% in 2025, an expected expansion tied to rising global commodity prices.

However, corruption is rife in the country (the 2024 Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index ranked Cameroon 140th of 180 countries, where #1 is the least corrupt and #180 is the most) and income disparities are significant. notes:

“Poverty reduction in Cameroon has stagnated over the past 20 years, with approximately 4 in 10 Cameroonians living below the national poverty line. The household survey data from 2021-2022 suggests that 23.0% of the population lives below the extreme international poverty line with only $2.15 per person per day, adjusted for purchasing power parity (PPP).”

The drive to emigrate is strong, and a very large proportion of Cameroonian students want to emigrate after studying abroad to increase their opportunities for decent salary and for the chance to send money home to their families. Immigration pathways are a main reason that Canada has risen steeply as a popular destination among Cameroonians up to 2023. Canada’s immigration settings have tightened since 2024 for most international students, but the Canadian government continues to encourage Francophone international students to come to the country to study and immigrate.

Cameroon is a hotly contested student market, and institutions in many destinations are offering scholarships to establish a solid presence in the country.

Higher education

Access to higher education is low in Cameroon (14% in 2018) relative to the rest of the world, but high in the context of Central Africa (where the average is closer to 9%).

Most Cameroonians who attend one of the eight domestic universities choose French-language programmes. The two Anglophone universities are the University of Buea in the Southwest, and the University of Bamenda in the Northwest.

The private sector is expanding quickly (over 200 institutions today), and as in many other emerging markets, it is doing so in response to low access to public universities. The following chart from WENR shows this rise over the years. Enrolments are surging despite higher fees at private institutions, underlining the demand for higher education in Cameroon.

For additional background, please see:

• “Both Russia and Japan moving to intensify international student recruitment in Africa”
• “East African student mobility: Current trends and future possibilities”
• “New white paper offers unique insights on recruiting in Africa”

The post Recruiting international students in Cameroon appeared first on şÚÁĎąŮÍř Monitor - Market intelligence for international student recruitment.

Russia: Easier access and better fees

A new campaign organised by the Russian state universities group, , is promising African students a range of benefits not commonly offered by Western universities. According to , the “Study in Russia” campaign emphasises low tuition fees (US$2,000 to US$4,000 a year) and the availability of English- and French-taught degree programmes offered by the association’s 20 university members.

The campaign is also distinctive in that it promises guaranteed (1) admission to African students, including for medical and engineering programmes and (2) student housing for the length of a programme.

A weakening competitive offer from the West

In contrast to Russia, rejection rates of African students’ visa applications are notoriously high in the West.

US: Research conducted by shows that 54% of African students were refused an F-1 visa in 2023, up from 44% in 2015. Shelley Landry, senior director of government affairs at Shorelight, said: “This report makes it abundantly clear that the high rate of visa denials in Africa and the Global South is contributing to a loss of share of international students to global competitors.”

Canada: More than half of African students were denied a study permit in Canada in 2023,
according to published in June 2024. Strikingly, and as shown in the chart below, less than half of African postgraduate students’ applications were approved in 2023, “in contrast to over 80% approval rates from non-African students.”

UK: Visa approval rates are not excellent for African students in the UK, either. For example, while demand from Kenya is rising quickly, notes that Kenyans with confirmed offers of acceptance (CAS) on its platform were much less likely to be approved than other students: “Kenya’s refusal rate against CAS issued stood at 6.99%, compared to India (1.88%), Bangladesh: 5.52%, and Pakistan: 4.65%.”

Meanwhile, the dependants’ ban that came into effect in January 2024 has drastically reduced demand from Nigerian students to study in the UK. Nigeria had been a fast-growing market for UK educators before the ban.

“Study in Russia” is a top-level government priority

The Study in Russia campaign dovetails with Russia’s renewed efforts to establish more influence in Africa. In February 2025, for example, Russia’s foreign minister Sergey Lavrov announced the launch of the Department for Partnership with Africa in Moscow. Mr Lavrov heralded Russia’s “return” to Africa and explained the reasons that Russia had withdrawn from Africa in the first place. These given reasons were not surprisingly anti-Western in their orientation and included Russia’s “mistaken” belief that it would be embraced by the West after the dissolution of the USSR.

Japan promotes in-demand programmes for African students

Meanwhile, Japan has its own plan: the programme. Supported by Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) and spearheaded by Akita University, the plan aims to recruit African students to Japanese universities to programmes in artificial intelligence (AI), biotechnology, environmental studies, information technology, and robotics, as reported in .

Japan is working closely with African universities including Kenya-based (JKUAT) to promote scholarship opportunities in Japan. JKUAT’s engineering and technology programmes enjoy a good reputation and are seen as “an ideal bridge for African students seeking higher education in Japan.”

Japan will set up regional recruiting offices in Botswana and Kenya in April 2025. Currently, there are less than 2,000 African students in higher education institutions in Japan, but the plan is to increase this to 2,500 by 2028.

In 2022, according to the , almost half of Japanese firms relied on workers over the age of 70. In 2023, former Prime Minister Kishida told lawmakers in the country that “Japan is standing on the verge of whether we can continue to function as a society” as a result of its falling birthrate and elderly population.

What of France?

France remains the top enroller of African students, and most of its top African markets are continuing to grow. The exception is Morocco, which was down -4% in 2023/24 versus the previous academic year. Here is a rundown on African enrolments in France in 2023/24:

• Morocco: 43,350 (-4%)
• Algeria: 34,270 (+7%)
• Senegal: 16,955 (+11%)
• Tunisia: 15,255 (+7%)
• Cote d’Ivoire: 11,770 (+10%)
• Cameroon: 10,880 (+11%)

While France has tried to diversify its international student population to rely less on African enrolments, slower growth in 2022/23 from Asia underlined the importance of a continued focus on Africa.

For additional background, please see:

• “France enrolled over 430,000 international students in higher education in 2023/24”
• “New report highlights the increasing competition for international students from Sub-Saharan Africa”

The post Both Russia and Japan moving to intensify international student recruitment in Africa appeared first on şÚÁĎąŮÍř Monitor - Market intelligence for international student recruitment.