Ghanaians are third largest as number of students from sub-Saharan Africa in US increases

The number of students from sub-Saharan Africa studying in the US has hit a record high, reaching 39,479 – an increase of 4.6 per cent above the previous year, according to the 2018 Open Doors report on international education.

Students from Ghana form the third largest number of Africans studying in the US, the report says.  There are currently 3,213 Ghanaian students enrolled at more than 630 tertiary institutions spread across the United States, a 3 per cent increase from 2017.

“Ghana is the third largest sender of students from Africa, after only Nigeria (12,693 students) and Kenya (3,322 students).  Undergraduates make up 38 per cent of those at US universities and colleges.  Meanwhile, graduate students make up 45 per cent.  Of those, 42 per cent are enrolled in doctoral programmes,” it adds.

In total, the US hosted 1.09 million international students during the 2017/2018 academic year.  This marks a 1.5 per cent increase over the previous year, the report states.

It indicates that the five most popular US states for Ghanaian students are Ohio, New York, Massachusetts, Michigan, and Texas.  The two most popular institutions are Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, which has 71 Ghanaian students (66 graduate and five undergraduate students), and Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, which has 65 undergraduate students from Ghana alone.

“Meanwhile, Ghana’s strong universities attract over 25,000 students from other African countries.  In addition, 1,865 American students engaged in a credit-bearing programme in Ghana in the 2016/2017 academic year, a 19.2 per cent increase over the previous year.  This makes Ghana the second most popular destination for American exchange students, after only South Africa,” a press release from the US Embassy copied to ghanabusinessnews.com says.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi