Major Increase in the Number of American College Students at African Universities

According to data from the Institute for International Education, more than 223,000 American students studied at foreign institutions of higher education during the 2005-06 academic year. This was up 8.5 percent from a year earlier. A vast majority of Americans studying abroad (58.3 percent) attended universities in Europe. Of all U.S. students studying abroad, 8,459, or 3.8 percent, attended universities in Africa. The number of American students studying in Africa was up a whopping 19 percent from the previous year.

In 2005-06, 2,512 American students studied in South Africa. This was up by 9 percent from a year earlier. Ghana hosted 1,205 American students in the 2005-06 academic year. Kenya, Tanzania, Senegal, Botswana, Namibia, Mauritius, Madagascar, Zambia, and Uganda were the only other black African nations hosting more than 100 American college students.

Of the 205,983 American students studying abroad in all areas of the globe, 7,209, or 3.5 percent, were African Americans. In 1996 African Americans were also 3.5 percent of all American students studying abroad.