Many Nigerians and their British-born descendants in Britain live in South London, and they are one of the larger immigrant groups in the country.

The earliest known Nigerian presence in London took place over 200 years ago as a direct result of the transatlantic slave trade.

[10] In 2015, Britain's Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner expressed concerns about the extent of contemporary slavery involving Nigerians smuggled to the UK.

[17] A Council of Europe report gives a figure of 100,000 Nigerians in the UK but suggests that this is likely to be an underestimate since it does not include irregular migrants or children born outside of Nigeria.

Similarly, Nigerians with citizenship of another EU member state who then relocated to the UK are not necessarily included in this estimate.

According to the Institute for Public Policy Research, Nigerian pupils are among best performing student groups in the United Kingdom.

In November 2013, The Spectator noted that Nigerians, along with Russians, "are now the fastest-growing population in British private schools".

[38] Research by Euromonitor International for the British Council indicates that in 2010, the majority (66 per cent) of Nigerian foreign students attended universities in the UK.

Their time studying in Britain is also facilitated by an established and large Nigerian community and by "the relative proximity of the UK to Nigeria".