Why Two-Third of Nigerian Professionals Eager to Work Abroad

A new report from Boston Consulting Group and The Network says that nearly two-thirds of Nigerian professionals and three-quarters of Ghanaian professionals are keen to work abroad.
The Decoding Global Talent 2024 report surveyed over 150,000 workers from 188 countries. It found that young professionals and workers, a rapidly growing population, are more likely to seek opportunities abroad.
English-speaking countries with thriving economies such as Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom were the most popular destinations, with London and New York among the most popular cities.
The report also ranked Nigeria 67th and Ghana 72nd in terms of attractiveness for global workers, with Abuja and Lagos ranked 63rd and 103rd, respectively, as the most desirable cities.
“The world’s most important economies face major challenges with severe talent shortages. This looming gap in global labor markets is largely due to falling birth rates and a mismatch between labor supply and demand,” said Sebastian Dettmers, CEO of StepStone Group.

Labor mobility offers a great opportunity to close this gap.
We must make our labor markets more diverse and allow workers to go where they are needed most, where they can find the job that best suits their skills and aspirations.
United States, Australia, Germany, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland and France. This is a slight change from the 2020 survey, which found that Nigerian-origin workers were looking for work in the Netherlands (8th in 2020), New Zealand (9th in 2020) and Ireland (10th in 2020).
The top ten countries for employment opportunities for Ghanaians are Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, the United Arab Emirates, Finland, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Belgium.
BCG Principal Adwoa Banhuru said; “West Africa continues to offer attractive employment opportunities for local professionals and those from other parts of the continent and abroad who want to advance their careers.”
“There are several clear reasons why people choose to relocate to Nigeria and Ghana, not least the quality of employment opportunities and the region’s welcoming culture and family-oriented environment.
The report found that global talent is primarily migrating abroad for professional reasons, with those who want to do so citing economic reasons (64% globally, 60% for Nigerians, and 69% for Ghanaians).
Additionally, career considerations included job history (56 percent of global respondents, 69 percent of Nigerian respondents, and 73 percent of Ghanaian respondents), better overall quality of life (55 percent of global respondents, 51 percent of Nigerian respondents, and 57 percent of Ghanaian respondents), and concrete job offers (54 percent of global respondents, 51 percent of Nigerian respondents, and 50 percent of Ghanaian respondents) as the most important reasons.

Nigerian respondents also cited better education and training opportunities (64 percent vs. 37 percent of global respondents) and more interesting and challenging work (63 percent vs. 48 percent of global respondents) as their main reasons for moving.
The same was true for Ghanaian respondents, who said they were moving in search of better education and training opportunities (70 percent) and more interesting and challenging jobs (68 percent).
“For respondents around the world who cited specific reasons for choosing a particular country, the deciding factor was quality of work (65 percent), followed by quality of life and climate (54 percent).”
“Other country-specific characteristics such as citizenship opportunities (18 percent) and healthcare (15 percent) also play a role, but are secondary factors,” the report highlights.
Respondents cited quality of work (52 percent of respondents), family-friendly environment (40 percent), welcoming culture, and inclusiveness (34 percent) as reasons for moving to Nigeria.
Reasons for choosing Ghana included quality of work (48 percent of respondents), welcoming culture and inclusiveness (40 percent), and safety and stability (38 percent).
“The main reasons cited by Nigerian and Ghanaian respondents for not wanting to move abroad were not being able to take their family or life partner with them (43 percent and 50 percent, respectively) and the cost of moving (39 percent and 36 percent),” Banful explained.
Sasha Noah, co-CEO of The Network, said, “Instead, they choose the target area that best suits their criteria for future career choices. Companies should take advantage of this as they can earn points for job offers that match talent expectations.”