Sub-Saharan Nations Sending the Most Scholars to Teach at U.S. Colleges and Universities

Filed in Faculty, Foreign Studies, Research & Studies on December 8, 2014

According to new data from the Institute on International Education, in the 2012-13 academic year, there were 122,059 foreign scholars teaching at American colleges and universities. The number of foreign scholars was up 4.4 percent from the previous year. The vast majority of these foreign scholars are from either Europe or Asia. In the 2012-13 academic years there were 2,132 scholars from sub-Saharan African nations teaching at U.S. colleges and universities. This is up nearly 13 percent from the 2011-12 academic year but down from 2,750 just five years ago.

Nigeria sent 400 scholars to teach in the U.S., more than any other sub-Saharan African nation. South African ranked second with 315 scholars teaching in the U.S. In all probability, some of these South African scholars are White. Kenya was third with 266 professors at American colleges and universities.

Among other sub-Saharan African nations, Ghana, Ethiopia, and Zimbabwe were the only other countries to send as many as 100 scholars to teach at U.S. universities.