Nigeria's foreign travel bill hit $5.996 billion in 2025, a 32% jump from $4.544 billion recorded in 2024, with education topping the spending categories and business travel posting the sharpest growth of any segment, according to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Financial Vanguard obtained the CBN figures, which show that travel expenditure climbed steadily through the first three quarters of the year before cooling in the final three months. Spending stood at $1.267 billion in the first quarter, accelerated to $1.688 billion in the second quarter, and peaked at $1.806 billion in the third quarter before easing to $1.235 billion in the fourth quarter.

Education remained the single largest driver of overseas spending. Nigerians directed $2.845 billion towards foreign education in 2025, up 14.5% from $2.484 billion in 2024, with quarterly figures rising from $592.71 million in the first quarter to a high of $880.17 million in the third quarter before declining to $572.11 million in the final quarter.

Business travel recorded the most dramatic expansion. Expenditure in the first quarter reached $231.75 million from $77.33 million a year earlier, before surging 403.1% in the second quarter to $234.56 million and 924% in the third quarter to $207.26 million. The fourth quarter closed at $171.88 million against $36.61 million in the same period of 2024.

Medical tourism expenditure rose 6.5% to $684.72 million from $643.15 million, while personal travel spending grew 31.3% to $1.62 billion from $1.235 billion the previous year.

Industry analysts attributed the surge to structural failures across Nigeria's education, healthcare, and aviation sectors. Director of Research at Zenith Travels and Consult, Mr. Olumide Ohunayo, identified foreign carriers as the primary beneficiaries, pointing to airlines such as Ethiopian Airlines as consistent gainers. He attributed education related travel to declining confidence in local institutions, asserting that "most of the institutions are just out to make money rather than providing educational services." He further advocated restrictions on licensing new Universities except those offering specialized programmes unavailable domestically.

Chief Executive Officer of Belujane Konzult, Mr Chris Aligbe, echoed those concerns, stating that "people no longer rely on what we produce from that sector" and warning that standards in both education and healthcare had deteriorated significantly. He noted that low physician pay was accelerating the departure of doctors from the country, compounding pressures on the health system.

Both analysts called for urgent investment in infrastructure, aviation, and sectoral reforms to stem the outflow of foreign exchange.