The Central Bank of Nigeria’s dollar supply for overseas medical and educational costs increased by 49.22% to $1.81 billion for the nine months ending in September 2023.
Nigeria spent somewhat more on international education and health-related concerns abroad in 2022—$1.81 billion compared to $1.76 billion in the same time in 2022, according to CBN data.
The amount of money allocated for these two charges was insignificant compared to the $2.49 billion that was available during the same period in 2021. The apex bank defined the balance of payments as “a systematic record of economic and financial transactions for a given period between residents of an economy and non-residents” in an explanatory note labeled Note D.
Nigerians have been known to travel abroad for proper health care due in part to lackluster health infrastructure, and the desire for international education has grown despite declining dollar reserves due to a failing educational system and economic crisis.
Nigeria has received fewer dollars in recent years due to a decrease in foreign investments, a shortfall of crude oil, and a dip in remittances from the diaspora.
Despite the decline in the supply of dollars, Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), recently observed that two major factors contributing to the nation’s demand for foreign cash are medical tourism and the increasing number of Nigerians studying abroad.
In a speech to the House of Representatives, Cardoso revealed that, in the ten years between 2010 and 2020, Nigerians spent more than $40 billion on healthcare and education abroad.
He declared, “It’s significant to observe the rising number of Nigerian students studying overseas when examining the demand side of the exchange rate. The number of Nigerian students studying abroad rose from less than 15,000 in 1998 to over 71,000 in 2015, according to UNESCO’s Institute of Statistics. As of 2018, the World Bank reported that 96,702 students were enrolled in this program.”
According to a 2023 report by the Washington-based Institute of International Education, there were 17,640 Nigerian students enrolled at US colleges and institutions in the 2022–2023 academic year, up from 14,438 the previous year, a 22.2 percent increase.
According to an examination of the report, more Nigerians were living in the US in 2022 than there were in 2022. According to the institute’s analysis, Nigeria was the only African nation among the top 10 with the greatest proportion of students studying in the United States.
Experts claim that poor medical equipment and a lack of trust in medical facilities are the main causes of medical travel.
