Nigeria increased spending on foreign education and health services by 19 per cent to $1.73 billion in the first half of 2025, marking the highest level in four years since 2022, despite the country grappling with a high exchange rate and inflation-driven cost of living crisis.
According to Vanguard, the Central Bank of Nigeria’s quarterly statistical bulletin revealed a steady rise in the amount Nigerians are sending abroad for education and medical care.
The data showed that following a COVID-19-induced 74 per cent drop to $1.14 billion in H1’23 from $4.347 billion in H1’19, spending on foreign education and health rebounded sharply by 21.6 per cent to $1.457 billion in H1’24.
The upward momentum continued in H1’25, with expenditure on foreign education and health climbing another 19 per cent to $1.73 billion.
The analysis further indicated that spending on foreign education grew by 15 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to $340.94 million in H1’25, up from $296.63 million in H1’24.
Similarly, spending on foreign health services rose 16.7 per cent YoY to $1.733 billion in H1’25 from $1.16 billion in H1’24.
Overall, Nigerians’ spending on foreign education and health services increased by 50 per cent ($578 million) over two years, covering H1’24 and H1’25, defying the Naira’s more than 99 per cent depreciation during the same period, when the exchange rate surged to N1,553 per dollar at the end of H1’25 from N769 per dollar in H1’23.
This growing outflow of funds has drawn criticism from stakeholders in both sectors, who described the trend as a national embarrassment and an indictment of the local university education system, calling for investigations.
“It is a sad commentary and an indication of total indictment of our university education system. If the foreign exchange was floated leading to a high devaluation of the naira and we see this much being spent on foreign education. It is a lack of confidence in our system,” said Dr Niyi Sunmonu, National President of the Congress of University Academics.
Similarly, Deputy Medical Director of Afe Babalola University Multi-System Hospital, Dr. Akinola Akinmade, noted, “The surge reflects critical gaps in the local healthcare system. These gaps include limited access to specialised care, outdated infrastructure, and a growing lack of trust in domestic healthcare delivery. The major medical conditions fueling medical tourism are cardiac surgery, cancer therapy, and kidney transplant surgeries.”
