The United Kingdom is losing about £4 billion annually by under-employing Nigerians and other African migrants, according to a new analysis published by The Insight Vodcast, a weekly news explainer produced by UK-based Nigerian investigative journalist Adejuwon Soyinka.
The analysis states that the UK economy could gain up to £37 billion a year if workplace racial disparities affecting black and minority ethnic workers were effectively addressed.
Drawing on data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the Migration Observatory at Oxford University, Business in the Community (BITC), and a 2025 University College London (UCL) study, the Vodcast highlights persistent underemployment, wage disparities and structural barriers facing African professionals in the UK.
“The 2021 UK Census recorded about 1.5 million Black African people in England and Wales—around 2.5 per cent of the population. Of this number, approximately 270,000 were Nigerians.
Estimates suggest the Nigerian population in the UK grew to around 300,000 by 2023, with another 52,000 Nigerians migrating in 2024,” the statement said.
The Vodcast notes that data from the ONS shows black African, Caribbean and black British workers consistently earn less than their white peers, even when qualifications are similar.
According to the analysis, the UK’s economic losses extend beyond reduced productivity to include diminished innovation, lower tax returns and slower overall growth.
The Insight Vodcast calls for urgent national attention, arguing that unlocking the talents of African migrants is not only a moral imperative but a direct economic opportunity, one capable of strengthening the workforce, bolstering public services and driving long-term economic growth.
