• Global Education Trends
    • Accreditation and Quality
    • Mobility Trends
    • Enrollment & Recruiting
    • Skilled Immigration
  • Education System Profiles
    • Africa
    • Americas
    • Asia Pacific
    • Europe
    • Middle East
  • Tools & Reports
    • Country Resources
    • E-Guides
    • iGPA Calculator
    • Degree Equivalency
    • Research Reports
    • Sample Documents
    • Scholarship Finder
  • Training
  • Archives
  • World Education Services
WENR
Subscribe to our newsletter today
  • Global Education Trends
    • Accreditation and Quality
    • Mobility Trends
    • Enrollment & Recruiting
    • Skilled Immigration
  • Education System Profiles
    • Africa
    • Americas
    • Asia Pacific
    • Europe
    • Middle East
  • Tools & Reports
    • Country Resources
    • E-Guides
    • iGPA Calculator
    • Degree Equivalency
    • Research Reports
    • Sample Documents
    • Scholarship Finder
  • Training
  • Archives
  • World Education Services
Home > Africa > Sub-Saharan Africa as an Emerging Market for Millennial Students

Africa

Print article
Increase/decrease article text size
Share Article

Sub-Saharan Africa as an Emerging Market for Millennial Students

November 3, 2014
Immerstein Silje

Zhengrong Lu, Research & Advisory Services, WES

The World Bank projects that regional GDP in Sub-Saharan Africa will grow more than 5% annually between 2014 and 2016, ensuring that it remains among the fastest growing regions in the world. While students from Sub-Saharan Africa in the U.S. make up less than 4% of the total international student body in the country, it remains an important market for U.S. higher education institutions (HEIs) looking to diversify their international student community.

The latest report from WES Research & Advisory Services, Bridging the Digital Divide: Segmenting and Recruiting International Millennial Students, highlights Millennial students’ proclivity for technology during their college-search processes, indicating that HEIs need to adapt to students’ technological usage in order to recruit more effectively. This recommendation also applies to Sub-Saharan Africa, where mobile devices have emerged as the main medium for accessing the internet, and use of mobile devices during the college search and application process is above the average. Our survey results showed that:

  • Sixty-five percent of Millennial students from Sub-Saharan Africa reported that they check their emails several times a day, compared to 59% of all survey respondents.
  • Fifty-seven percent of Sub-Saharan African students have used a smartphone during the U.S. college/university search and application process as compared to 56% of all respondents; 27% used a tablet as compared to 26% of the total.
  • Almost all (98%) of those who have used a mobile device during the U.S. college/university search and application process used it to search for information on a university’s programs. Seventy-six percent of them used it to communicate with admissions staff over email and more than half of them (52%) used it to complete and submit a university application.

Using our segmentation framework – based on academic preparedness and financial resources – we found that Sub-Saharan African students differ substantially from overall respondents in terms of which segment they fit into. With the rise of the middle class in Sub-Saharan Africa, especially among oil exporting countries such as Nigeria and Ghana, more than two-fifths of master’s students from this region are Highfliers (students with high financial resources and high academic preparedness) as compared to 28% of overall master’s students, indicating that Sub-Saharan Africa is a promising location for international recruitment among institutions seeking to recruit Highfliers at the master’s level.

On the other hand, Sub-Saharan Africa remains one of the most inequitable regions in the world in terms of wealth distribution, which explains why Strivers (students with low financial resources and high academic preparedness) make up a high percentage of all students and suggests that many who are interested in studying abroad are likely to face challenges in affording the associated costs.

A figure showing the segmentation and information needs of bachelor's and master's degree students from sub-Saharan Africa

Bachelor’s students from Sub-Saharan Africa are most interested in information about tuition and cost of living (48%) and financial aid and scholarship opportunities (42%) as two of their top three information needs. Master’s students cited tuition and cost of living (46%) and application requirements (43%) as two of their top three information needs more often than reputation (36%) and career prospects (36%), the most frequent selections for overall master’s applicants, both at 43%. This finding implies that institutions wishing to expand their recruitment efforts into Sub-Saharan Africa should stress affordability and understand some of the challenges these students may have during the application process.

In conclusion, HEIs should be aware of and prepare for the emerging market in Sub-Saharan Africa. For more insights about international recruitment, please download our latest report here.


Additional Resources:

  • Education in Nigeria
  • U.S. Scholarships for Nigerian Students

Previous Mobility Monitors

  • Brazil: Pathways for the Future
  • Scholarships Drive Growth in Students from Kuwait
  • Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar Look to U.S. Higher Education after Years of Conflict

WES in the News

  • India’s Supply-Demand Gap in Education Expected to Drive International Mobility, ICEF Monitor
  • Millennial International Students Rely on Digital Channels and Networks, ICEF Monitor
  • New Digital Strategies Needed To Recruit Foreign Students, Report Says, The Chronicle of Higher Education
Previous Article
Next Article

What others are reading
What Others
Are Reading

Education in the United States of America

June 12, 2018

Education in the Philippines

March 6, 2018

Education in India

September 13, 2018

Education in Nigeria

March 7, 2017
Stay Informed
Subscribe to WENR, and discover other tools and publications
Subscribe now
Top
Follow us:
Stay Informed
Subscribe to WENR, and discover other tools and publications
Subscribe now

Global Education Trends

  • Accreditation and Quality
  • Mobility Trends
  • Enrollment & Recruiting
  • Skilled Immigration

Education System Profiles

  • Africa
  • Americas
  • Asia Pacific
  • Europe
  • Middle East

Tools & Reports

  • Country Resources
  • E-Guides
  • WES iGPA Calculator
  • Degree Equivalency
  • Research Reports
  • Sample Documents
  • Training
  • Archives
WENR
  • Masthead
  • About
  • Privacy Policy
Our Expertise. Your Success.
© 2025 World Education Services. All Rights Reserved.